Hopes Dashed For a Miracle: Four Missing Miners Found Dead

This all comes to a sad conclusion, although in a good way at this point as the families can now start the grieving process, knowing their loved ones' have now been accounted for and now need to be retrieved from the mine, at least 22 of them.

In addition, all accounts indicate the blast was so great, that everyone was killed instantly, which might bring some solace  to the families, knowing their loved ones weren't down there dying and suffering for the past 4 days

With 29 now pronounced dead, this makes this the worst mining accident in the U.S. since 1970 in one of in not the most dangerous jobs in America.

I offer my condolences to the miners' families and pray they rest in peace after a hard life of busting their asses as these men are the ones who keep America warm on cold days and nights, along with providing us the means to power plants around the country that deliver us our "juice" 24/7/ usually 365. 

And frankly most get paid diddly for such an important and dangerous job, and we Americans left behind should demand the companies pay them more appropriately for the danger they encounter minute by minute. Means higher energy costs then that what it means. I'd rather reward working men and women with my money than non working ones who aren't working for any reason, other than those who are disabled or elderly of course.


Much of the money is at the top of the energy industry, Enron comes to mind, as an example of executive pay gone wild.

Like most capitalists, I'm not against a profit, but I AM AGAINST not sharing it with the people who really do the WORK. To Ceo pay, my father was a CEO of PET incorporated throughout the entire 80's, and while he's comfortable working as a retired Real Estate man in Florida,  they didn't bank the dough these men and women do today.

Too top heavy and it's all fallen down.

This company, Massey Energy, was cited twice on the very day of the disaster,, which I refuse to call an accident, and the upper level management there are responsible for cutting corners and not their massive salaries and benefit packages. When it comes to blame the government is in the bag too,  for backing corporations into corners with far too much taxes and other ridiculous, red tape financial regulations that have absolutely nothing to do with safety in this industry and others.

Fact is this, it's all too big and complex of a machine to run smoothly anymore out there and particularly the behemoth government which is the largest offender of them all without even a close second. The country has reached it's peak of capacity in all aspects of life and we need to tone it down from top to bottom.

Bodies of four missing W.Va. miners found dead; 29 dead in worst coal mining disaster since 1970
"MONTCOAL, W.Va. - Crews have found the bodies of four miners missing nearly a week since an explosion at a West Virginia coal mine, bringing the death toll to 29, officials said. 'The journey has ended,' Gov. Joe Manchin said.

The mission now is to recover all 22 bodies still inside the Upper Big Branch mine 30 miles south of Charleston, officials said. Seven other bodies were recovered after the blast Monday, and two other miners were injured.

Crews early Friday morning had hoped the miners would make it to the airtight chamber that was stocked with food, water and enough oxygen for several days.

During previous rescue attempts, searchers were forced to withdraw by dangerous gases and the risk of fire or explosion. Manchin had promised families they would have answers by midnight. 'They just want to take their fathers and their husbands and their sons and their uncles, they want to take them home,' he said. 'They just want to bring them home.' It is the worst coal-mine disaster in the U.S. since 1970 when 38 were killed in Hyden, Ky."

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