W.Va. marks 1 year since coal mine blast killed 29

By Kayana Szymczak, Getty Images

Friends, family, and community members participate in a candle light vigil at Marshfork Elementary School held for the deceased coal miners on April 10 in Montcoal, W.Va.

EnlargeCloseBy Kayana Szymczak, Getty Images

Friends, family, and community members participate in a candle light vigil at Marshfork Elementary School held for the deceased coal miners on April 10 in Montcoal, W.Va.

Massey Energy Co, which owns the Upper Big Branch Mine where the men died, shut down production at its other Appalachian sites as politicians, miners and family members turned out for a series of commemorations of the nation's worst coalfield disaster since 1970. Two miners survived the blast.

"We're here today to observe the sacrifice of 29 men," acting Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin said after laying a wreath at the state coal miners' memorial on the Capitol grounds. The wreath of yellow roses was adorned with a black banner saying, "From a grateful people."

OPINION: We can't let up on mine safetyPHOTOS: Community mourns lost minersUPPER BIG BRANCH MINE: String of safety lapses before explosion"Keep the miners' families in our payers as we go through the rest of the day," Tomblin said.

The small service was the first in a series of public and private events marking the first anniversary of the explosion. Others are planned for a Beckley church and an elementary school some eight miles from the site of the blast.

"We're a small community and so everybody knew somebody who was involved directly or indirectly," said Mick Bates, who is helping organize a public memorial in Beckley. They are asking people to wear stripes on their clothing to mimic the distinctive safety reflective tape miners have on while underground.

LAST YEAR: Mine too dangerous to send in rescue crewsGRAPHIC: Upper Big Branch mine at-a-glanceTomblin has asked churches across the state to ring their bells 29 times at the estimated time of the explosion. Regulators and Massey have said the explosion occurred at 3:02 p.m.

Massey also plans a moment of silence besides the safety stand down at 92 underground coal producing sections. Massey operates mines in West Virginia, Virginia and Kentucky.

The company, central Appalachia's largest coal producer, is the only one expected to stop production Tuesday, according to the West Virginia Coal Association.

As the first anniversary dawns, state and federal regulators are no closer to releasing the final determined cause of the blast deep inside the mine. Federal prosecutors are also investigating.

The federal Mine Safety and Health Administration has said the explosion occurred when methane gas was ignited. The agency theorizes highly explosive coal dust that had been allowed to accumulate in the mine mixed with the methane to create a blast so powerful it turned corners and rounded a 1,000-foot-wide block of coal, packing the power to kill men more than a mile away.

Massey denies any wrongdoing, blaming a sudden inundation of natural gas that overwhelmed all safety systems.

"The company remains fully committed to a thorough and comprehensive investigation that seeks to identify the primary causes of the explosion and provide answers to the UBB families and the communities we serve in Central Appalachia," Virginia-based Massey said Monday.

Federal officials say they hope to provide more insight into the explosion during a public meeting set for June 29.

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