By Marija Ilic, The Barbour Democrat
PHILIPPI, W.Va. — Early Monday morning, around 1 AM, a fire was reported in, allegedly, the gob area of the Arch Coal Leer South mining complex. Gob is generally referred to the space that is left in the mine after the coal has been extracted, and the area is filled with waste, which is a mixture of coal, clay, rock, and other materials.
At the time, all the miners were evacuated, and the mine rescue team and fire brigade were sent in. The team has been fighting the fire all through the night, and according to the reports, the fire is still ongoing, when mitigation measures were changed in the area affected by fire was being pumped full of water as they were trying to continue to fight the spread of the flames.
Morning shift that reported for work at 7 AM. It was also sent home, and all mining operations are temporarily halted, and mine is closed until further notice.
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