WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Lightning that passed along an abandoned cable likely caused last year’s Sago Mine explosion in West Virginia that killed 12 miners, according to a report released on Wednesday by the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration.
Twelve ribbons line a fence in front of the Sago Mine in Sago, West Virginia on January 8, 2006. Lightning that passed along an abandoned cable likely caused last year's Sago Mine explosion in West Virginia that killed 12 miners, according to a report released on Wednesday by the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration. REUTERS/Jason Cohn
“A storm, accompanied by heavy rain, thunder and lightning, was in the area. Before entering the mine, some Sago miners saw lightning strikes near the property,” it said.
Two lightning detection systems recorded three simultaneous lightning strikes near the mine before the January 2006 accident, with one bolt hitting the ground.
The accident claimed the lives of 12 men and severely injured another when an explosion caused the underground mine to fill with carbon monoxide. After hours of trying to get out, struggling to make their emergency breathing supplies work and banging on a pipe in hopes of communicating with those on the surface, the miners finally died from a lack of breathable air.
The federal mine safety agency primarily blamed the deaths on 40-inch-thick seals that were installed over the shut-down area where the cable was left, saying the seals could withstand pressure of only 20 pounds per square inch. Richard Stickler, MSHA’s head, said the agency now requires seals to withstand 50 psi.
The lightning sent a charge along the 1,300-foot cable to the chamber, where methane gas had built up. The resulting explosion destroyed all 10 seals, made from Omega blocks.
The agency also found that the breathing rescue devices six miners carried had not been tested, even though that type of device is known to malfunction. The federal government requires the devices be tested every 90 days.
Randal McCloy, the surviving miner, has said many of the breathing devices failed.
The lightning strike explanation echoed conclusions made by West Virginia’s mine safety office and an independent investigation by the governor’s office.
Mine owner International Coal Group stopped operations at Sago mine in March. Last June, President George W. Bush signed a law calling for higher fines for safety violations and better emergency supplies in the nation’s coal mines.
There have been six deaths in U.S. coal mines this year, with the most recent one occurring on April 17.
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