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An explosion at the Sago Colliery in West Virginia in 2006 killed one miner and trapped 12 others. Inefficient rescue efforts by the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) and resentment towards the United Mine Workers Association (UMWA) led to legal battles. The cause of the explosion, attributed to a lightning strike, is disputed. International media attention led to minor changes in mine safety laws, but the mine reopened and closed permanently a year later due to lack of profits. Twelve miners died, and one survivor struggled with the aftermath.
In the early morning hours of January 2, 2006, an explosion ripped through the Sago Colliery in Upshur County, West Virginia. The blast, which was felt more than five miles away in the town of Buckhannon, collapsed part of the mine, trapping one team of miners and avoiding another. When the dust cleared, one miner died and 12 others were trapped under the rubble. Over the next two days, all but one of the remaining miners would slowly succumb to lack of oxygen as the community watched helplessly.
Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) rescue teams did not respond to the Sago Mine disaster site until four hours after the explosions. Until 10:00 that evening, the increasingly agitated crowd watched as the MSHA performed tests, but made no rescue attempt. The knowledge that high levels of carbon monoxide were hampering rescue efforts was of little consolation to the friends and family of the workers trapped in the clouds of toxic gas. Over the next 24 hours, rescue attempts were intermittent, culminating in the discovery of the remains of 12 miners and one seriously injured survivor on the morning of 4 January.
The inefficiency of the MSHA’s rescue efforts coupled with long-standing resentment with the United Mine Workers Association (UMWA) led to several legal skirmishes between the groups in the months following the Sago Mine disaster. Even after UMWA was legally granted the right to participate in the investigation into the cause of the explosion, representatives were denied access to many documents and interview transcripts. UMWA still strongly disagrees with the official explanation that the explosion was caused by a lightning strike at the mine entrance. This attack would have ignited a pocket of methane gas at the site of the explosion. Since the aforementioned pocket of methane was sealed 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) down the mine tunnels and at a depth of more than 250 feet (76.2 meters), many find the explanation unsatisfactory.
Within hours of the Sago Mine disaster, the small West Virginia community was inundated with national and international media. These reporters, unaccustomed to the cultural norms of rural West Virginia, were seen as pushy, rude, and obnoxious. The gap between the locals and the media became unbridgeable after misinformation reports that 12 of the miners were found alive. After that painful emotional disappointment, reporters in the area often met with open hostility.
International media attention has led to some minor changes to mine safety laws, but no real, radical changes. The most notable effect was the closure of the mine, which reopened less than three months after the Sago Mine disaster. The mine closed its doors for good after one more year of operation, citing lack of profits. Locals considered reopening the mine sacrilege, and eventually the Wolf Run Mining Company found it difficult to run an entire mining operation without workers.
Twelve West Virginian children were lost in the Sago Mine disaster: Tom Anderson, 39; Sponge helmets, 50; Marty Bennett, 51; Martin Toler Jr., 51; Marshall Winans, 50; Junior Hamner, 54; Jessie Jones, 44; Jerry Grove, 56; James Bennett, 61; Jackie Weaver, 51; Fred Ware Jr., age 58; and David Lewis, 28. Randal McCloy Jr., the sole survivor of the Sago crash, struggled with the physical and emotional toll of the disaster and was unable to return to work.
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