US mine explosion kills 7, 19 missing

Montcoal, Apr 6: An explosion at an underground coal mine left seven miners dead while rescue teams are still looking for 19 workers who are missing.

The mishap took place on Monday, Apr 5 at around 3 pm at Massey Energy"s Upper Big Branch mine in Raleigh County.

Massey CEO Don Blankenship confirmed the number of dead and missing in a statement. However, the company remains tight lipped on the extent of damage.

“We want to assure the families of all the miners we are taking every action possible to locate and rescue those still missing," the statement said.

There is no news on the cause of the explosion too. The coal mine, however, has history of releasing vast amounts of highly combustible methane gas, which is one of the great dangers of coal mining. As of now, media reports speculate that Methane could be behind the explosion.

OneIndia News