Morning, folks... as you've no doubt heard by now, only one of the 13 coal miners who were trapped in the Sago Mine in West Virginia has survived.
To make matters worse, around midnight last night, incorrect reports went out that all 12 of the remaining miners (one miner's body had been found earlier in the evening) had survived.
Family members celebrated, until they were told three hours later that all but one had perished.
People are now mourning the dead, though the recriminations and finger-pointing have begun as people try to figure out what happened -- both with the release of the incorrect information, and the reason why the accident happened in the first place.
Here are some resource related to the tragedy:
* Poynter Online is focused on journalism issues, and considers the issue of newspapers that went to press with variations on the incorrect "Miners Rescued" headline.
It also has a round-up of resources on coal mining, mine accidents, and other information for people who want to learn more.
* Found this one on Metafilter: It's the blog observations of a reporter who has been on the scene in West Virginia. It's kind of the raw, unedited, behind-they-eyes goings-on of a journalist.
Both of those links re-raise some of the questions I mentioned yesterday about the role of newspapers' dead-tree (paper) and online editions.
Also, my friends over at the AOL News Community have set up a condolences message board if you'd like to leave a message.
Thanks -- Joe
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
I live only hours from the site of the mine...on the west side of West Virginia, near the Ohio River. This is just heartbreaking. First thing I see when I wake up this morning was a newspaper headline claiming..."They're Alive!"
Then I turned on the Today Show....
<sigh> What a way to start the New Year.
Thanks for all the interesting links you provided.
Bridgett
...And Then There Were Four <private>
This is so sad. I was reading an article in my local newspaper about this last night and a photograph was displayed of one of the wives whose husband was not yet found. She was crying and covering her face. In the article she said that her husband, who had been only 27 years old, had been looking for another job because the mining was "too dangerous". I feel so bad for her and all the families who lost a loved one down in that mine.
I'll certainly be praying for all those involved..it is indeed a tragedy. :-(
~ Susan
http://njmom72.blogspot.com
so very sad.
elisa
Just heartbreaking.
Lori
Who I am… underneath it all: http://journals.aol.com/scotthlori/DiscoveringMe
My Spiritual Journal: http://journals.aol.com/scotthlori/PreciousMetal
Dear JOe,
tahks for providing the board. I did see that when the workers called in, they reported that since only one man was at the juncture, they were assuming (wrongly) that the others ahd avoided going too near the toxic stuff and that they were safely hiding some where. Well, some employees heard this and nonofficially reported this to family members and employess wrongly... the company workers wrongly assumed it was better not to wake sleeping dogs as they were still bent on getting their men out so they did not tell the family the real skinny
nat
Post a Comment