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Ky. mine blast survivor calls for safety chambers
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — The lone survivor of an underground explosion that killed five coal miners in Kentucky two years ago said Tuesday he believes most of his co-workers would have survived if the federal government had required protective chambers stocked with oxygen supplies.
Paul Ledford of Dayhoit, a tiny mining town in the mountains of eastern Kentucky, escaped from the Darby mine in nearby Harlan despite the explosion and a lethal flash fire. Three of his co-workers suffocated, and two others died from injuries in the blast.
Now, the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration may require coal companies to provide protective shelters, known in the industry as refuge chambers, in all of the nation’s nearly 600 underground coal mines.
“I believe these chambers will help save lives in the future,” Ledford said at a hearing held by the federal agency to gather public comment on the need for shelters. “They’ll be a safe haven for the miners in case of emergency.”
Ledford recounted his ordeal in the Darby mine, where dust was so thick “you can’t hardly see your hand in front of your face.” Ledford said he prayed as he crawled along the mine’s rocky bottom, then lost consciousness.
“I just knew I was going to die in there that night,” he said, adding he awoke instead to the sound of an approaching rescue team.
