Mourners Hold Memorial Vigil for American Coal Miners

For nearly two days, family members and others gathered at Sago Baptist Church in Tallmansville, W.Va., USA praying for the safe return of 13 trapped coal miners. And for a few hours, those gathered celebrated as news spread that 12 of 13 trapped coal miners had survived.

|PIC1|That jubilance turned to shock, however, after an announcement by a coal company official said that there had been a “miscommunication” and that all but one had miraculously survived.

Wednesday night, with the news that 12 of the miners had been found dead and one was in critical condition, grieving family members and others returned to the church with candles and hymnals to start healing the only way they know how – by praying.

The days ahead will bring funerals and mourning for the victims, said the Rev. Wease Day at Wednesday night's vigil. But the church minister insisted they must also include a celebration of the lives that were lost.

"We need to be sad. We need to pray for the families," Day said according to the Associated Press, "but we also need to be joyous."

Late Tuesday, when the first announcement was made, families streamed outside the church with some yelling “They’re alive!” as church bells rang. After enduring nearly 40 hours of uncertainty many were convinced it was a miracle. They also began to praise, singing hymns, and throwing themselves into each other’s arms, according to AP.

|AD|Due to an underground explosion – whose cause has not yet been determined – the West Virginia workers had been trapped for nearly two days. Rescue crews had been digging with hope that the miners could be found alive despite reports that noxious gas levels were very high. The miners had been trapped 260 feet below ground about two and a half miles into a nearly horizontal shaft. On Tuesday, one worker, Terry Helms had been found dead.

West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin, who made the initial announcement at the church, said he did not know how the miscommunication took place and would conduct an enquiry to determine that. He said his staff had not confirmed the report and began receiving information that it was inaccurate 20 minutes after the announcement. He added that it took almost 3 hours to get the facts straight because authorities did not want to make a wrong announcement again, AP reported.

“I can’t tell you of anything more heart-wrenching that I have gone through in my life,” he said.

From the 12 miners that were found early Wednesday, the sole survivor, 26-year-old Randal McCloy, was taken to a hospital. According to the most recent reports, McCloy lays in critical condition with a collapsed lung, dehydration and other serious problems but no sign of carbon monoxide poisoning. He was unable to speak because of a tube inserted in his throat to ease his breathing, but he could communicate by squeezing his wife's hand.

Doctors said McCloy's youth may have helped him survive; most of the other miners were in their 50s.







Joseph Alvarez
and Jason Davis
Christian Today Correspondents