Word: mine
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...murky depths of the Scotia Coal Company's No. 1 Black Mountain Mine, 108 men were at work one morning last week. Suddenly, four miles from the tunnel's entrance, a violent methane-gas explosion ripped through a passageway, shaking the pine-studded mountains of Oven Fork in southeastern Kentucky. Nine men died instantly. Six others survived the blast for a time with their portable air units. But apparently thinking their way out was blocked, the six shielded themselves from fumes with pieces of canvas and awaited rescuers; they were found dead of suffocation...
...took eight rescue teams twelve hours to find the 15 bodies. There were no blocked passageways, but dense clouds of methane had to be ventilated section by section as the teams painstakingly made their way to the victims. The day before the blast, the mine had been cited for three violations of federal ventilation laws-and only two of the violations had been corrected. But 11 of 36 sprinklers used to dampen inflammable coal dust were not operating. There is no indication, however, that this was in any way connected with the explosion. Nor do officials know how the fatal...
...days after the explosion, a group of 13 inspectors and miners were deep in the same mine, strengthening a section of roof and repairing the ventilation system. The group was also trying to find out what had caused the calamity. Then disaster struck again, in precisely the same way: another gas explosion. Two men managed to escape, but eleven were killed-three federal inspectors and eight miners. Though their bodies have been located, concentrations of methane-and fears of yet another explosion-prevented their immediate removal. Funerals for men who died in the first explosion were going on when...
...victims in the second explosion was James Sturgill, 48, a 14-year veteran of the area's bituminous coal mines. His cousin Jimmy, 20, had died in the first blast, and Sturgill readily volunteered to join the group that went down to investigate. The blast was "a fluke," Sturgill had said. "I'm no more afraid to go into the mine than I ever was. This is a fact of life that coal men must live with. If you thought about the dangers, it would drive you out of your mind. I don't think about...
...much up in the air. Coal prices have doubled and tripled in the past few years, but the union seems largely unable to translate those gains into tangible benefits for its members. Just last week, in District 19 and Harlan County, Kentucky, the Scotia Coal Company's Black Mountain mine exploded, killing 15 men. James Sturgill, one of those who was killed, once said, "If you thought about the dangers, it would drive you out of your mind. I don't think about it. You've got to die some time...