Melville, W.Va.
Two West Virginia men died in a coal mine this week after a conveyor belt caught fire, less than three weeks after an accident in another West Virginia mine killed 12 people. The victims—Don Bragg, 33, and Ellery Hatfield, 47—were trapped inside by smoke and scorching heat, although the rest of their 12-member crew escaped unharmed. Rescuers fought the flames for 40 hours; the victims were carrying oxygen canisters capable of giving them just one hour of air. The deaths prompted renewed calls for laws improving mine safety. “It’s unfortunate that every coal mine health and safety law on the books,” said Rep. Nick Rahall, a West Virginia Democrat, “is written with the blood of coal miners.”
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