Bodies Of All 29 W.Va. Miners Recovered

The bodies of all 29 West Virginia coal miners killed in an explosion last week have been recovered from the mine, a spokeswoman for the state mine office said Tuesday.

Jama Jarrett said the last bodies were taken out around 2 a.m. or 3 a.m. Tuesday and the bodies were being sent to the state medical examiner for autopsies.

Recovery efforts had been stalled in previous days by volatile gases, but teams entered Monday after the tunnels were ventilated.

The recovery of the remaining bodies, paves the way for federal investigators to enter the mine as they try to determine what caused the worst U.S. coal mining disaster since 1970.

Credits: Associated Press, NPR