A Special Report: Upper Big Branch Disaster -- A Deeper Look

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Jeanie Sanger, center, sister of Benny Willingham, a miner who lost his life in Monday's mine explosion at Massey Energy's Big Branch Mine, receives comfort from her grandchildren Colleen Runyon, 6, left, and Andrew Runyon Runyon, 5, right, in Sanger's Beckley home on Wednesday morning. F. Brian Ferguson

Anonymous The Register-Herald Mon Aug 16, 2010, 06:00 AM EDT

Editor’s Note: As three investigation teams continue their probe into the nation's worst mining disaster in four decades, editorial staff members from The Register-Herald and Bluefield Daily Telegraph, along with the executive editor for Community Newspaper Holdings Inc. (our parent company), have been working for the last three months to develop stories and photographs that will provide our readers with a deeper look into the Upper Big Branch tragedy. It should also be noted that while Massey Energy did respond in writing to written questions that we posed to them, and those responses do appear in one of these stories, numerous verbal and written requests made to Massey officials to allow us to interview Massey CEO Don Blankenship went unanswered.

Scroll down this page or click HERE to see the stories from the special report.

Special coverage begins with the story "The wind's force grew until it 'got like a hurricane ... After explosion, UBB survivor ended his career"

Here are links to slideshows from our original coverage from the disaster. Scroll further down the page to see stories that have developed over the months since the explosion and for original stories from the disaster. They are posted in order from the most recent to the oldest.

Click HERE for a slideshow of local and wire photos from the disaster - 4-7-2010.

Click HERE for a slideshow of local and wire photos from the disaster - 4-6-2010.

Click HERE for a slideshow of local photos (various dates) from the disaster, posted 4-9-2010.

Click HERE for a slideshow of Associated Press photos (various dates) from the disaster, posted 4-9-2010.

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Montcoal Mine Disaster

Independent investigation says Upper Big Branch disaster was preventable
A series of explosions that ripped through the Upper Big Branch mine in Montcoal just over a year ago, killing 29 miners and shocking the nation, were preventable, a report released Thursday stated.

May 19, 2011 3 Photos
Families not surprised Massey was irresponsible
For the father of one of the victims of the tragedy at Upper Big Branch, hearing investigators say the accident was preventable and largely due to ignoring important safety measures came as no surprise.

May 19, 2011
UBB report provides insight into future of mine safety
Following an independent investigation into the Upper Big Branch explosion, investigators offered more than 50 suggestions for improving the safety of coal miners underground, and lawmakers across the state and nation have taken notice.

May 19, 2011
MSHA investigation not complete, but mostly in line with independent panel's report
The public received a few answers to questions about the Upper Big Branch mine explosion Thursday from an independent team, but federal investigators are still completing their investigation.

May 19, 2011
11 panel findings and suggestions for safety improvements
As part of the independent investigation of the April 5, 2010, explosion at Upper Big Branch by the Governor’s Independent Investigation Panel, the authors of the report offered the following 11 findings that were accompanied by multiple suggestions for safety improvement.

May 19, 2011
UPDATED: Report also criticizes regulators in UBB mine blast
The independent investigation that blames the deadliest U.S. coal mine explosion in decades on owner Massey Energy Co. also points out problems with how federal and state regulators policed the West Virginia coal mine where 29 died last year.

May 19, 2011
UPDATED: Families seek justice for fatal UBB mine blast
Relatives of the 29 men killed in the deadliest U.S. coal accident since 1970 said Thursday the findings of an independent probe confirm what they long suspected, saying Massey Energy Co. cared more about coal than workers’ safety, threatened to fire those who complained and let dangerous conditions build in an ill-fated mine.

May 19, 2011 3 Photos
Remembering the 29
A year after the tragic loss of 29 West Virginia coal miners at a Raleigh County mine, public officials gathered Tuesday evening with victims’ families, rescue workers and others affected by the tragedy.

April 6, 2011 1 Photo
Families haunted by tragic blast
“It was a hard week,” was the phrase repeated by family members of the 29 miners who lost their lives on April 5, 2010, during the Upper Big Branch Mine tragedy.

April 6, 2011 1 Photo
Community gathers to remember, honor coal mine disaster victims
Many arrived in black T-shirts bearing the names of all 29.
For some, the attire of the day was accented by stripes of varying hues, resembling the safety patches worn by the underground coal miner.

April 6, 2011 1 Photo
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