Two West Virginia Miners trapped in Mine after a fire.

[Drbio]

LOGAN, West Virginia (CNN) -- Rescue teams reached the face of a West Virginia coal mine Friday but found no sign of two missing miners, officials said.

Other teams entering the mine from two entrances were turned back by heavy smoke from a fire that erupted inside Aracoma Alma Mine No. 1 on Thursday.

The missing miners were separated from their crew as they were fleeing the fire. Their names and ages were not released at the request of their families, who are awaiting word at a nearby church, Gov. Joe Manchin said.

A state mining official said rescuers have made significant headway in extinguishing the blaze and reducing the levels of poisonous carbon monoxide.

Ray McKinney, a spokesman for the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration, said rescuers hoped to clear three entries to vent smoke and improve ventilation.

He said there were some pockets of fresh air where the miners may have retreated to.

Twenty rescue teams are involved in the search, said Doug Conaway, director of the West Virginia Office of Miners' Health, Safety and Training.

"Time is not our friend," Manchin said earlier. "The longer the time goes, the more difficult it becomes. So, we're concerned about that."

The incident comes less than a month after the disaster at the Sago Mine in Tallmansville, where 12 miners died. The only survivor remained hospitalized Friday. (Read latest on his condition)

The fire apparently began Thursday evening on a mechanical belt inside the mine, government and mine officials said. The Massey Energy-owned mine is in Logan County, about 60 miles southwest of Charleston.

A crew of 12 men was working in the mine when a monitor went off at 5:36 p.m., indicating a fire, Conaway said.

Ten of the miners encountered smoke but exited to safety about two hours later, Conaway said. The 10 were unable to offer much information about the location of the missing men. Conaway described those missing as "experienced miners."

Carbon monoxide levels were measured Friday morning at areas the rescuers could reach, but they had no way of knowing what the level might be wherever the missing miners are. Mine officials added that the ventilation system still could be working.

Rescuers scanned the area with heat-sensing equipment. They also checked entries and found heavy smoke, Conaway said.

The mine has not had any fatal accidents since 1995, the earliest year tracked by the U.S. Labor Department's Mine Safety and Health Administration.

Last year, Alma Mine No. 1 had a nonfatal accident rate of 9.01, compared with the national average of 6.39, according to the department's Web site. In 2004, the mine had a nonfatal accident rate of 0.82, compared with the national average of 5.66, the site said.

Unlike with Sago, "We don't have an explosion, which is good news," Manchin said.

[Drbio]

Worrisome development:

The fire that trapped the two miners in this mine is now reported to still be burning. It is also reported that the coal in the mine is burning. This is very bad since carbon monoxide is being continually released as a byproduct of combustion, not to mention that the fire isn't under control.


Like the Sago Mine disaster, I fear this may end badly.