2 Missing Men Found Dead After Fire in W.Va. Mine

Officials emphasized that there were key differences between the Alma Mine fire and the Sago Mine explosion. For one, the carbon monoxide levels, while still higher than normal in the Alma mine, were not as severe, Conaway said. Also, the ventilation system continued to work at the Alma Mine, and no methane was detected coming out, said Robert Friend, acting deputy assistant secretary for the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration.

That enabled rescuers to get into the mine more quickly. The gases at the Sago Mine and damage to the ventilation system had prevented investigators from entering the mine until Saturday. It will likely be another week before they can reach the deepest parts of the mine and begin the physical investigation into what caused the explosion, said Ben Hatfield, president of International Coal Group, which owns the Sago Mine.

Conveyor belt fires can occur when belt rollers get stuck or out of alignment and rub against the structure supporting them, said John Langton, MSHA deputy administrator for coal mine safety and health. Another possible cause is the accumulation of coal dust.

Jimmy Marcum, a 54-year-old retired miner from Delbarton, said better equipment is needed to protect miners.

"I mean, they can send a man to the moon but they can't make [an oxygen canister] that will last at least 16 hours. . . . That's what they need to do," Marcum said.

Amid criticism that it has not made mine safety a priority, the Bush administration is launching a review of emergency equipment, including the one-hour oxygen packs that proved to be inadequate in the Sago disaster.

The Mine Safety and Health Administration is seeking public response on how to better supply miners and rescuers with equipment such as breathing apparatus and communications devices, according to its regulatory agenda. The Sago accident "underscored the vital role that mine rescue operations play in response to catastrophic mine incidents," the document said.

An item the Clinton administration had been reviewing, but that was withdrawn from consideration during President Bush's first term, was deployment of mine rescue teams. Mine operators rely on rescue teams that are as much as two hours away, which union officials say is too far.

In its request for public input, the mine safety agency is seeking information on technology that might help rescuers communicate with miners, such as text messaging devices. The agency also is looking into whether rescue chambers could be built inside mines.

Zuckerbrod reported from Washington.