MSHA Releasing Darby Mine Report Tonight
MSHA said it will post its report on the Darby No. 1 Mine incident of May 20, 2006, at www.msha.gov tonight, once the agency's meeting with family members of the miners who died has ended. MSHA said the meeting should end around 9 p.m. EDT, but the report will be posted earlier if the meeting concludes early.
Five miners died in a methane explosion 3,200 feet inside the mine that occurred when gas leaking from an inadequate seal was ignited by a cutting torch being used to cut a metal roof strap, the Kentucky Office of Mine Safety and Licensing concluded in a report issued Dec. 1, 2006.
MSHA's report will include the conclusions of its investigative team and will identify root causes for the blast. The agency has a new get-tough approach, thanks to the MINER Act, as shown by a record $1.5 million penalty it issued this spring for alleged violations involved in a West Virginia coal mine fire.