More Miners Trapped in WV

MELLVILLE, W.Va. - Rescue teams searched early Friday for two miners who were unable to escape after a fire broke out in an underground coal mine. Nineteen miners were able to flee the blaze, state officials said.

The fire started Thursday evening on a conveyor belt at the Alma No. 1 Mine operated by Massey Energy subsidiary Aracoma Coal, about 60 miles southwest of Charleston, officials said.

Twelve miners had gone into the mine to start their shift when a carbon monoxide monitor sounded an alarm around 5:36 p.m., said Doug Conaway, director of the state Office of Miners’ Health Safety and Training. The monitor was located about 10,000 feet inside the mine and about 900 feet underground, he said.
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