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May 3, 2006 6:50 pm US/Eastern
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False Hope May Have Originated With Mine Inspector
Buckhannon, WV (KDKA/AP) ―
A state mining inspector believes he may have been the source of the misinformation that 12 miners had survived January's Sago Mine disaster.
Bill Tucker is an assistant inspector at large for the state Office of Miners' Health Safety and Training.
He testified at a public hearing in Buckhannon this morning that he may have said 'They're alive.'
Tucker doesn't remember his exact words. He says he was just screaming for help.
Tucker then started checking on the miners, and realized that the first did not have a pulse. Further checks revealed that only one -- Randal McCloy Jr. -- was alive.
At that point, Tucker picked up the radio and yelled that there was only one alive. But by that time, the message that 12 had survived had been leaked to the families.
Ron Hixson also was with the rescue crew that found the bodies.
He spoke on behalf of himself and all the rescuers, offering an apology for the heartache the miscommunication caused.
The families of the 13 miners caught in the explosion had waited for 40 hours for news of their loved ones. After hearing that all but one had survived, they celebrated for about three hours before learning the truth.
(© 2006 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)