Weather May Have Been a Factor
By Mary Otto
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, April 19, 2007
BARTON, Md. -- Rescuers worked through Wednesday trying to reach two coal miners buried beneath tons of rock and dirt at an open-pit mine in the rugged western Maryland mountains.
Despite the collapse of a 100- to 125-foot mine wall into the mine Tuesday, hope remained a day later that the miners had been able to survive inside the cabs of their machinery somewhere beneath the debris.
"We expect to treat this as a rescue until we know otherwise," said Bob Cornett, spokesman for the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration. "We're still moving dirt in the pit."
Speaking at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Cornett estimated that about half of the debris had been moved but there was no trace of the miners or their equipment. He said the weather -- which has fluctuated between freezing and thawing, snow and rain in the past few days -- could have contributed to the collapse.
State police have not released the names of the miners because they say not all family members have been notified.
The rescue drew workers from as far as Montgomery County and Baltimore, but only a few at a time could work safely in the pit. Rescuers were constantly reevaluating the effort, concerned that digging too deep would cause further collapse, Cornett said.
It was the first serious accident anyone could recall at the Tri-Star Job No. 3 Mine southwest of Cumberland since 1992. That year, James Dunnivan of Frostburg was badly injured when his truck overturned.
On Wednesday, Dunnivan's wife, Debbie, brought a van loaded with soup, chili and iced tea to the rescue workers. "Comfort food," she said with a smile. "I'm coming back tonight."
The mine, which sits a mile up an unpaved road and is inaccessible to all but rescuers, is on Caledonia Hill, still gray and barren this time of year. Some friends and neighbors stopped by for news, and family members stayed sequestered at a house near the site.
Jim Michael of Western Port, who hauled coal most of his working life until he was disabled, said he knew one of the missing men and kept a vigil on the hillside with a citizens band radio in his truck tuned to the channel being used by the rescuers.
"The radio is awful quiet now," Michael said.
As the sun faded over the stripped hills, he tried to keep up hope for the two men. The track hoe and bulldozer they were operating in the pit had cabs that could protect them. The vehicles were also equipped with CB radios, but rescue workers said they had received no communication from the miners.
"Something like that, they didn't have" any warning, Michael said. "In two seconds, it was all over."
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