A Jan. 14 Nation in Brief item misstated the name of the centerorganization led by Isaac Newton Farris Jr. It is the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change.
NATION IN BRIEF
Sunday, January 14, 2007; Page A13
Two Die in West Virginia As Mine's Roof Caves In
CUCUMBER, W.Va. -- Two members of a coal mining crew removing pillars in a mine died Saturday when a portion of the tunnel collapsed and the men were buried in debris deep underground, authorities said.
None of the other miners in the 35-member crew was injured, said Ted Pile, a spokesman for Alpha Natural Resources, whose Abingdon-based subsidiary, Brooks Run Mining, operates the mine.
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Pile said the crew was working on a process called retreat mining in which the miners work back toward the entrance extracting coal from the pillars that support the ceiling, Pile said.
Dispatchers said the accident scene was up to 1 1/2 miles beyond the entrance to the mine in McDowell County, about 90 miles west of Roanoke.
The state mine safety director, Ron Wooten, said it was unclear whether a pillar or portion of the ceiling collapsed. He had earlier said the miners apparently were caught when a pillar fell.
"There's no need for rescue teams, the individuals have been recovered," said Wooten, director of the state Office of Miners' Health, Safety and Training.
Wooten said the bodies were taken to a hospital about 11 miles away in Welch. Their identities were not released.
The mine was closed following the fatal incident and would remain closed until regulators allow it to reopen, Pile said.
The deaths are the first in West Virginia's coal mines this year and the second and third in the nation. A miner was killed Jan. 6 at a Colorado mine, according to MSHA.
Coretta Scott King Honored in Atlanta
ATLANTA-- It's been a year since Coretta Scott King received thunderous applause when she surprised guests at the annual Salute to Greatness Dinner and appeared on stage, smiling and waving with her children.
On Saturday, guests again applauded the widow of Martin Luther King Jr., as she was honored posthumously for her human rights contributions and work to preserve her husband's legacy in the decades after his death.
King suffered a stroke and heart attack in August 2005 and battled ovarian cancer before she died in January 2006.
