Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, May 15, 1995 TAG: 9505160025
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: GRUNDY LENGTH: Short
Tammy K. Givens, 25, was found dead after water from Dominion Coal Co.'s No. 5 mine began pouring out of a hollow early Saturday.
The water apparently undermined the house's foundation, said Mike Abbott, a spokesman for the Virginia Division of Mines. The floor collapsed while the house was being evacuated. Givens was trapped and believed to have drowned, authorities said.
Three other people in the house were evacuated, Buchanan County Sheriff Paul Crouse said.
Large trees were uprooted from the force of the water. The road near the house where Givens was killed was heavily damaged.
The discharge was fairly clear, but did include some coal particles, Abbott said. The state Department of Game and Inland Fisheries was on the scene Saturday because parts of the nearby Dismal River are stocked with trout.
The blowout occurred in a portion of the mine that has not been active for about a year.
Keywords:
FATALITY
by CNB