Remembering West Virginia’s Sago Mine Tragedy

Written by Jason Keeling on January 2, 2009

Three years ago today, an underground explosion shook areas of Upshur County during the early morning. The blast, later determined as the result of lightning, occurred at International Coal Group’s newly acquired Sago Mine.

Thirteen miners were unaccounted for. By evening, family and community members had gathered at the Sago Baptist Church, while national and international news media arrived within the small town of Tallmansville. As rescue teams entered the Sago Mine, observers were hopeful for a result similar to Pennsylvania’s Quecreek Mine accident, in which every trapped miner was saved. 

During the evening of Jan. 3, 2006, a miscommunication between rescuers was overheard, and via mobile phone, a bystander spread misinformation that 12 of the Sago miners were alive.

Soon afterward, ICG officials were informed of the situation’s reality, that 12 miners had perished. Company representatives waited almost three hours before relaying the correct information.

In the meantime, family members believed their prayers had been answered, joyously clinging to each other, holding candles, singing “Amazing Grace” and awaiting the miners’ arrival. Competitive news outlets compromised sound journalism, interviewing jubilant relatives live, and pasting front page stories with incorrect accounts that the men had survived. 

Tragically, the families would soon learn that only Randal McCloy Jr. was alive. Their joy turned to sadness and anger. Instead of allowing the families to grieve in a private and dignified manner, cameras swarmed the scene like a perverse form of reality television. 

Let’s remember the men who died in the Sago Mine, the surviving Randal McCloy Jr. and the affected families.

• Tom Anderson, 39, of Rock Cave
• Alva “Marty” Bennett, 51, of Buckhannon
• Jim Bennett, 61, of Phillippi
• Jerry Groves, 56, of Cleveland, W.Va.
• George Junior Hamner, 54, of Gladyfork
• Terry Helms, 50, of Newburg
• Jesse Jones, 44, of Pickens
• David Lewis, 28, of Phillippi
• Martin Toler Jr., 51, of Flatwoods
• Fred Ware Jr., 58, of Tallmansville
• Jackie Weaver, 51, of Phillippi
• Marshall Winans, 50, of Talbert

Posted in Business, Culture, Government, Media, West Virginia