Apr 18, 2006 4:34 pm US/Eastern
Sago Miners Testimony Released
Miners, owner await results of tests on seals
Morgantown, WV (KDKA/AP) ―
Testimony from 46 miners and other workers at Sago Mine has been released.
The testimony portrays a chaotic scene following the explosion as workers scrambled to get everyone out.
Other documents show investigators are looking closely at why some walls used to seal off an abandoned section of the mine failed.
The sealed-off area is believed to be where a deadly explosion occurred on Jan. 2. Twelve miners died as a result of the explosion with only one man surviving.
International Coal Group says federal regulators didn't allow it to witness a test of foam blocks like the ones it used to seal off the abandoned section of the mine.
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health tested the 40-inch Omega block seals on Saturday at an experimental mine in southwestern Pennsylvania.
ICG Vice President Charles Snavely says the company believes the seals at the Sago Mine were properly built, but the forces behind them were greater than the current standard of 20 pounds of pressure per square inch.
The federal agency says the test could become a long-term research project on whether the existing regulations are adequate.
(© 2006 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
