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

Mine explosion claims 25

On Monday, there was a mine explosion at the Massey Energy Co. mine in Montcoal, West Virginia. The current death toll stands at 25. There are four miners who have not been accounted for. Rescuers bore ventilation holes both yesterday and today in hopes of releasing some of the poisonous gasses and allowing fresh air into the mine so that they can attempt a rescue effort. At this point they are still calling it a rescue effort because they "strongly believe" that the miners are still alive.

My thoughts and prayers go out to the families of the deceased. I also pray for those still trapped in the mine and their families. Hopefully, they will be receiving good news soon.