SHINNSTON —
Crews on Saturday located a bulldozer that plummeted into a West Virginia coal slurry pond when an embankment collapsed, and will resume the search today for the operator.
The bulldozer and two pickup trucks slid into the Nolans Run impoundment of Consol Energy’s Robinson Run mine shortly after noon Friday. Two engineers who tumbled into the water were promptly rescued. They were treated at hospitals and released.
Lynn Seay, spokeswoman for Pennsylvania-based Consol, said in an e-mail that the bulldozer was located early Saturday evening.
“The dive crew is currently trying to determine the depth of the dozer,” Seay wrote. “Once that determination is made, the recovery operations will stop for the night to allow for development of a recovery plan and will resume in the morning.”
She wrote in a subsequent e-mail, “We cannot yet determine if our employee is in the cab of the bulldozer and will not know that until we proceed with the recovery plan.”
Earlier, Seay said the search for the missing worker had been suspended at midnight Friday and resumed Saturday. Crews were draining the pond, which was 12 feet deep, and sonar equipment was brought in to help divers and other rescue personnel who were searching for the missing person. Seay said the embankment remained unstable and continued to shift, creating difficult conditions for the search.
The Robinson Run mine was idled while the search was under way, and Seay said a decision on resuming operations would be made on a shift-by-shift basis.
U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration officials were on site, along with company, state and union officials. It was unclear what caused the collapse, which MSHA spokeswoman Amy Louviere described as a “massive failure” at the mine’s preparations plant.
Preparations plants wash raw coal to help it burn efficiently before it is shipped to customers. Coal slurry impoundments are used to contain both solid refuse and the wastewater byproduct known as slurry.
The accident occurred on the same day that an electrician, 27-year-old Steven O’Dell of Mount Nebo, was killed when he became caught between a scoop and a continuous mining machine at a White Buck Coal Co. mine in Greenbrier County. The company is a subsidiary of Virginia-based Alpha natural Resources.
O’Dell is the state’s sixth mining fatality this year.
Today's Front Page
Search continues for mine worker
- Today's Front Page
-
-
Fire chief says search almost complete in Oklahoma
The search for survivors and the dead is nearly complete in the Oklahoma City suburb that was smashed by a mammoth tornado, the fire chief said Tuesday.
-
Sexting will be illegal for minors in W.Va. starting July 12
It soon will be illegal for minors to sext in West Virginia.
-
Former legislator says stormwater runoff fee unfair
A former West Virginia legislator Tuesday decried the stormwater runoff fee imposed on some residents as unfair and uneven, warning that it is hurting businesses and individuals alike.
-
Crews race to find survivors of Oklahoma twister
Emergency crews searched the broken remnants of an Oklahoma City suburb Tuesday for survivors of a massive tornado that flattened homes and demolished an elementary school. At least 24 people were killed, including at least nine children, and those numbers were expected to climb.
-
Ways to help out the Oklahoma disaster victims
CNHI member newspaper The Norman Transcript has published a variety of ways that you can help those affected by the recent disaster in Oklahoma.
- Crews dig through the night after deadly tornado in Oklahoma
-
MASSIVE DEADLY TORNADO
A monstrous tornado at least a half-mile wide roared through the Oklahoma City suburbs Monday, flattening entire neighborhoods and destroying an elementary school with a direct blow as children and teachers huddled against winds up to 200 mph. At least 51 people were killed, and officials said the death toll was expected to rise.
-
Voices from the scene — ‘Everything came down on top of me’
These quotes were compiled by Reporter Michael Kinney.
-
Panel ponders tolls to build, maintain roads
Toll booths might some day mushroom along roads across West Virginia, giving motorists in other regions a taste of what driving has cost southern residents nearly six full decades.
-
RGH cardiac stent program back to normal
In an e-mailed statement issued early Monday, Raleigh General Hospital Marketing Director Kevin McGraw indicated that the cardiac stent program at the Beckley hospital is back to normal after a four-day hiatus.
- More Today's Front Page Headlines
-
Fire chief says search almost complete in Oklahoma
Tim Cook Defends Apple's Tax Accounting
AP Photograher: 'It Was a Miracle' They Got Out
Raw: Crews Search for Survivors of Okla. Tornado
Raw: Tearful Reunion After Okla. Tornado
OKC Hospital Describes Treating Tornado Wounded
Obama Pledges Urgent Aid for Tornado Victims
Raw: Massive Funnel Clouds in Oklahoma
