Stay updated with breaking news from Gassy mine. Get real-time updates on events, politics, business, and more. Visit us for reliable news and exclusive interviews.
But congressman rockefeller says there are gaping holes. the fact that in the past two months there had been three times where they had to shut down the mine because of rising levels of math an gas should have sent a warning signal. it had a reputation of gassy mine. don blankenship beliefs in production, production, production. the question is if it s at the cost and safety of those people who work so hard, this is back-breaking, really difficult work for people in poor economic situations. there are no gas stations, no grocery stores, no target stores to work at, nothing, no cell phone coverage, the only choice they have is to work at the mine. coal makes up 50% of our energy use. we could not survive without what they re doing in mines, west virginia and kentucky, and other places. you were just there ....
Naoma, west virginia. we heard the governor also mention possibly a seismic test somewhere around 11:30. what do you know about that test and what are they going to do? on the surface of the mine they will set off three shots or three small explosions. it is called a seismic test. the idea is it will send a signal deep into the mine. if those four missing miners are alive, they are trained to tap 10 times so they could hear them back up at the top of the mine. that would be a signal those miners are, in fact, still alive. we should note, they did not do a seismic test. but when they got that first bore hole through at 4:15 in the morning, got down 1,090 feet, better, faster than expected, they did not have any signs of life. officials say, look, there s still a sliver of hope we didn t hear or couldn t hear their banging or whatever it may be. they are hopeful, there s a sliver of hope they could find ....
When an explosion occurs, it has the ability to lift that material up and move it to an area and cause a lot of destruction. it doesn t deposit in one area. it s displaced through the entire area. based where people are normally walking and traveling, there may be material debris, concrete block, rails that has come up off the ground that makes people have to be very careful when they cross over. it s not a clear walkway like you and i have in this room here. from the time the rescue crews get the all clear, how long do you estimate for them to get back to that rescue chamber area. our hope, again, a caveat they find no problems on the way in and no additional gas, i would expect somewhere less than two hours from them when they start in the mine to actually be able to get in there under oxygen and start advancing in front of them. ....
Energy and violations. senator rockefeller said yesterday when i asked about this, they can lawyer these things out, it s very difficult to shut down a mine. i spoke with one miner, mr. clemens, who is a contract employee. i asked him and his wife, they have two young children. i asked, are you worried about going back in that mine because of these safety violations. they said to me, look, it s my job. massey energy supplies the head over my children s roof. it s the job in town. it s how they earn a living. he s planning to go back to work. tamron. thank you very much. the families of the four miners still missing are certainly holding out hope they are alive. one of those miners families one of the miners missing, his name is dean jones. he s worked there for more than 30 years of experience in mining. he s a foreman at the upper big branch mine. his sister spoke with matt lauer this morning on the today show. my hope is that my brother is ....
Those four missing miners alive, even though, of course, the governor admits it was a horrific blast that happened more than 24 hours ago and that the odds are not with us. let me just focus in on one other thing that came up in this particular press conference, tamron. that is the report in the new york times this morning. in the past two months this mine, the upper big branch mine, has been evacuated three times for these high methane levels. that was a question that was posed to the governor. if this mine has been evacuated three times in the past month, these high methane levels, should it have perhaps been evacuated on monday? shouldn t there perhaps have been some red flags? what was doing on? i ve spoken to experts that say this was known as a quote, unquote, gassy mine. you heard the governor very clearly say, look, if they stopped three times, you would have thought they would have ....