MONTCOAL, W.Va.,None — Gov. Joe Manchin said crews are going to drill a third hole at a West Virginia mine in an attempt to release dangerous gases from underground.
Manchin said Wednesday that the third hole needs to be drilled before any attempt can be made to rescue four missing miners.
Rescuers drilled the first hole into the coal mine where 25 people died Monday in the explosion but got no response from possible survivors when they banged on the drill pipe Wednesday to send a signal.
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Manchin said the first hole reached the Upper Big Branch Mine after boring through about 1,090 feet of earth and rock. Rescuers banged on the drill pipe for 15 minutes in hopes of being heard below ground.
"We did not get any response back," Manchin said at an early morning briefing Wednesday.
Manchin said he continues to meet with the families but has no updates regarding the two injured miners pulled to the surface. The governor said the families are very resilient. But he added they also know "the odds are against us."
It was a long day Tuesday for grieving relatives awaiting word about those who died in the explosion.
Some are angry because they found out their loved ones were among the dead from government officials or a company Web site -- not from Massey Energy executives. The mine is operated by Massey Energy Co. subsidiary Performance Coal Co.
Michelle McKinney found out from a local official at a nearby school that her 62-year-old father -- Benny Willingham -- died in the blast on Monday.
As she puts it, "These guys, they took a chance every day to work and make (the company) big. And (the company) couldn't even call us."
Three members of the same family are among the dead. Diana Davis said her husband, Timmy Davis, 51, died in the explosion along with his nephews, Josh Napper, 27, and Cory Davis, 20.
State mining director Ron Wooten said the blast was reported at about 3 p.m. Monday.
The cause of the blast is not known. But safety officials said the operation has a history of violations for not properly ventilating highly combustible methane gas.
Five highly trained mine rescue teams from Consol Energy and Massey were on the scene, as well as part of the state Office of Miners' Health Safety and Training team, MSHA spokeswoman Amy Louviere said.
The mine has caches of extra oxygen along emergency escape routes and airtight refuge chambers designed to provide enough air to keep miners alive for four days if they can't make their way out, according to Randy Harris, an engineering consultant who oversees installation of high-tech gear.
The large mine produced 1.2 million tons of coal in 2009, according to the Mine Safety and Health Administration, and has about 200 employees, most of whom work underground.
They would not have all been working the same shift, officials said.
At least three fatalities have happened at the mine in the past 12 years. In 1998, a worker was killed when a support beam collapsed, dumping bags of cement mix and other materials onto the man, according to a report from the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration. Federal investigators blamed poor welding and construction.
In 2001, another worker at the mine died after a portion of roof fell in on him, and an electrician died after being electrocuted while repairing a shuttle car there in 2003.
Massey Energy is a publicly traded company based in Richmond, Va., that has 2.2 billion tons of coal reserves in southern West Virginia, eastern Kentucky, southwest Virginia and Tennessee, according to the company's Web site.
Massey ranks among the nation's top five coal producers and is among the industry's most profitable.
The United Mine Workers labor union said it has personnel nearby and would help non-union Massey employees if the company asks. The UMW said it also is ready to help families of workers at the mine.
In 2006, 12 miners died in a methane explosion at the Sago Mine in West Virginia. Six were killed in the collapse of the Crandall Canyon mine in Utah in 2007.
Last year, the number of miners killed on the job in the U.S. fell for a second straight year to 34, the fewest since officials began keeping records nearly a century ago. That was down from the previous low of 52 in 2008.
Previous Stories: April 6, 2010: 25 Dead In W.Va. Mine Blast; Worst Since 1984
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