Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 20, 1992 TAG: 9203200094
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-12 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: BLACKSVILLE, W.VA. LENGTH: Medium
The explosion at Consolidation Coal Co.'s Blacksville No. 1 mine could be felt at least 15 miles away.
The blast at the mine, which straddles the West Virginia-Pennsylvania line about 60 miles south of Pittsburgh, happened in a seven-story building containing two empty coal bins that stood atop the mine's deep shaft. Workers had been preparing to seal the shaft.
The explosion blew away a concrete cap estimated at about 80 tons that sat on the top of the shaft. The sides of a nearby building were blackened and one sheet of corrugated steel was seen on a hillside about a quarter-mile away.
Company officials said the cause of the mid-morning explosion wasn't known.
Four workers died, said Kathy Snyder, spokeswoman for the Mine Safety and Health Administration, part of the federal Department of Labor. Two workers were admitted to a hospital, one in serious condition with burns, and a third was treated at another hospital and released, officials said.
They were among 15 workers employed by Forest Construction Co. of Scottsdale, Pa., which was hired to prepare the mine for sealing, said Joe Polis, human resources director for the coal company's northern West Virginia operations. Some were using acetylene torches, he said.
No one was inside the mine, which has been idle since June because of poor economic conditions, Consolidation spokesman Thomas F. Hoffman said.
"Everybody was on top when this happened," Hoffman said. "They were working on the surface, sealing a shaft."
A fire that occurred after the blast was brought under control by noon, officials said.
The mine last year employed 238 workers, but only 29 worked there at the time of the blast, Hoffman said.
Keywords:
FATALITY
by CNB