High Gas Levels Forces Rescuers To Withdraw From Montcoal, West Virginia Coal Mine

April 9th, 2010 - 7:45 pm ICT by GD  

By Gina Gomez
rescueMontcoal, West Virginia, Apr 9, (THAINDIAN NEWS) The rescue workers, who resumed their work again on early Friday in order to find the four miners who are still trapped inside the West Virginia coal mine, had to suspend their work due to smokes emanating from the mine. The rescue work was resumed on Friday morning with the aim of finding the whereabouts of the four missing miners while it is being hoped that the trapped miners would take refuge in underground chambers.

Kevin Stricklin, the federal mine safety official has revealed to the media that the rescue teams which embarked on the mission to find the coal miners, had to retreat as they came across smoke which was billowing out from the mine and thus could not go any further. At the same time, it has also been divulged that the rescue teams intend to pump nitrogen into the mine in order to neutralize the explosive gas in the Upper Big Branch mine. This technique would enable the rescue workers to go into the coal mine and stay there for an extended period of time even if the explosive gaseous mixture again forms in the air.

During Friday’s rescue mission, the crew had to withdraw from the site after they were able to arrive at a refuge chamber which has been stuffed with food items, water in a hope that the trapper miners would be able to survive with its help. In what is being perceived as one of the worst mining disasters in the United States which took place on Monday, as many as 25 miners have already lost their lives.

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