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Five Dead In Ky. Mine Explosion

One Survivor Confirmed After Early Morning Blast

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HOLMES MILL, Ky., May 20, 2006

(AP) An explosion in an eastern Kentucky coal mine killed five miners Saturday, Gov. Ernie Fletcher said. A sixth miner was able to walk away from the blast and out of the mine on his own.

The blast at the Darby Mine No. 1 in Harlan County occurred between midnight and 1 a.m. EDT while a maintenance shift was on duty, said Amy Louviere, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration. It was the latest in a string of mine accidents to hit U.S. coal country this year.

"We don't know the details of the cause," Fletcher told The Associated Press.

The five dead miners were found by rescue workers, the governor said. The rescue teams initially found three dead workers and later found two more, he said.

Authorities identified the victims as Amon Brock, Jimmy Lee, Roy Middleton, George William Petra and Paris Thomas Jr., but their ages and hometowns were not immediately available.

The survivor, identified as Paul Ledford, was taken to Lonesome Pine Hospital in Big Stone Gap, Va., where he was treated and released, hospital spokeswoman Amy Stevens said.

Fletcher said Ledford was closer to the mine's exit than his co-workers.

It was not clear how many workers were on duty when the blast occurred, but Louviere said no production was going on at the time.

The underground mine, operated by Kentucky Darby LLC, is located about 250 miles southeast of Louisville in a mountainous area near the Virginia border. A man who answered the phone at a Kentucky Darby office declined to comment Saturday, saying the company was too busy.

Relatives of the miners gathered before dawn at the Cloverfork Missionary Baptist Church near the mine to await word about their loved ones. State and federal mine officials informed the family members of the deaths, said Mike Blair, the church's pastor.

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