Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 26, 1993 TAG: 9303260121
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: GREG EDWARDS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
EIGHT RECALLED IN MINE PROBE
Federal and state officials investigating the Dec. 7 explosion that killed eight men in a Wise County coal mine have recalled eight witnesses to clear up discrepancies in their testimony.Safety officials scheduled interviews Thursday and today with eight of 31 employees of the Southmountain Coal Co. No. 3 mine who had been questioned earlier about conditions in the mine prior to the methane gas explosion.
The interviews are being held at the Big Stone Gap headquarters of the state Division of Mines.
In addition to company employees previously questioned, one new witness also has been called, said Mike Abbot, a spokesman for the state Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy.
Unlike the previous interviews, which were conducted in mid-January, representatives from management of the Coeburn-based company were not allowed to be present during this week's second round of questioning.
Tony Oppegard, director of the Mine Safety Project in Lexington, Ky., who also represents the families of three of the dead Southmountain miners, was pleased.
"That's what they should have done in the first place," Oppegard said.
Families of the dead miners had complained before the earlier interviews that the presence of company officials would inhibit the witnesses and hinder investigators' efforts to get at the truth about conditions in the mine.
The purpose of this week's questioning, Abbott said, is to clear up previous testimony and resolve discrepancies.
Officials are not identifying the miners who are being recalled, Abbott said.
Earlier questioning of mine employees focused on the condition of the mine's roof-control and ventilation systems just before the explosion.
The explosion at the mine, about six miles north of Norton, was the worst mine disaster in Virginia in 30 years.
Investigators appeared to suspect that a portion of the roof had collapsed, blocking a crucial ventilation passage that was designed to carry methane away from a mined-out section of the mine. Questioning indicated that a block of coal that was designed to hold up the roof over the ventilation passage had been removed.
Miners testified that they had heard a loud frightening "bump" the Sunday before the Monday morning explosion. Such an event might have released a pocket of explosive methane into the mine.
Oppegard said that the families of the dead miners may later give investigators a list of their own questions they feel should be asked about the explosion.
Also, Oppegard said, the families may renew their call for open public hearing on the explosion after President Clinton names a successor to William Tattersall, the former chief of the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration. The now-departed appointee of President Bush had rejected a public hearing.
Keywords:
FATALITY
Memo: shorter version ran in the Metro edition.