![]() Indeed, such activities are endemic to impoverished rural areas and deindustrialized urban areas in the US alike. Stripping copper from mines is common in West Virginia, and inactive mines often have thousands of dollars’ worth of the metal inside. You could go into a mine and make $1,000 a day.” People would do “whatever they can to do to make money if they ain’t got a job,” Williams told CBS. “It’s worth money,” Randy Williams, referring to copper, told ABC News while rescuers were still searching for his daughter, Kayla, “A couple years ago it was up to almost $4 a pound. That is how it’s being investigated.”Īlthough it has not been definitely determined whether the four were searching for copper, family members pointed to the economic desperation driving many unemployed or underemployed workers to take such dangerous chances. “Typically, when mines close the wire is left behind, and people will often times try to steal the copper. “We think they went in to steal copper wiring,” McCray told USA TODAY. “It’s illegal to enter a closed mine,” County sheriff’s Lt. While there was enormous relief that all four had been found alive, the authorities immediately said they would be subject of a criminal investigation. “We thought we was honestly hallucinating.” The oxygen level was so low, Beverly said, the three could only move about 15 feet before collapsing again. “We could hear them, but you know we would scream at the top of our lungs, and I guess they just couldn’t hear us,” he said. They were evaluated by medical workers at the surface, and, after a tearful reunion with their families, transported to a local hospital for care.Ĭody Beverly told NBC News that the harrowing four-day experience felt like “10, 11 days.” They had heard rescuers inside looking for them, but they were too weak and remote to make contact. The three were discovered oxygen deprived, dehydrated and hungry, cold, and soaking wet. “These families, friends, and the entire community are really hurting and need to be in our prayers,” Justice told the media.Īfter making his way out of the mine, Williams gave rescuers information on the location of his friends, who were found on Wednesday evening nearly two miles below ground. ![]() With an outpouring of popular concern and sympathy, Justice changed his tune and decided to travel to Whitesville last Monday night to appear before the cameras with rescue workers and family members of the missing. I cannot stress enough how dangerous these abandoned mines are and how hazardous they are to humans.” This is extremely irresponsible behavior that puts our first responders and mine safety crews in unsafe situations when they should be focused on ensuring safety at active mines. Republican Governor Jim Justice, a billionaire coal executive, issued a press release calling for people to “please STOP entering the abandoned mines. Several officials floated the idea that, if rescued, they would face immediate arrest. The initial reaction of political figures was to denounce the four for allegedly going into the abandoned mine to collect copper and other valuable metals. The vigil kept by family members of the missing, waiting for word of their loved ones, was reminiscent of the countless tragedies in the coalfields. After entering the mine, rescuers had to turn back multiple times because of high water and low oxygen levels.Īdding to the concerns about their fate was the fact that the tragedy was unfolding just a few miles from the scene of the 2010 Upper Big Branch mine disaster, where 29 miners lost their lives in a massive explosion. ![]() Rescuers were initially prevented from accessing the mine because of heavy snow and rough terrain. The four were reported missing on December 7 after their all-terrain vehicle (ATV) was found near the secluded entrance of the Rock House Powellton mine in Raleigh County, near the Boone County town of Whitesville.Ī rescue operation mounted by the local sheriff’s office was joined by the state Office of Miners’ Health, Safety and Training (MHS&T) and then the West Virginia National Guard and the State Police. ![]() Two days earlier, 43-year old Eddie Williams was able to make his way out to safety on his own. All but ignored in the coverage, however, is what the incident reveals about the economic and social distress that plagues the once major coal mining region of the US.Īfter spending four frightful days in the abandoned mine near Clear Creek, West Virginia, Cody Beverly, 21, Kayla Williams, 25, and Erica Treadway, 31, were rescued on December 13. The disappearance and subsequent rescue of four missing West Virginians in a remote, inactive coal mine made for dramatic national television news last week.
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