By Stephen Santilli, for The Record Delta
BUCKHANNON, W.Va. — Eighteen years ago this month, several people’s lives changed in a rumbling moment when the earth shook and trembled from a devastating explosion inside the Sago mine.
Upshur County, the entire state of West Virginia and the rest of the world’s eyes were on Sago when the disaster unfolded on local and national news stations.
After the explosion, which occurred approximately at 6:30 a.m., many gathered around television sets to catch a glimpse of what was going on up on the mountain and hear any news about the 13 miners hunkering down, with quickly depleting oxygen supplies, clinging to hope that the mine rescue team could reach them in time.
They struggled to find their way out, but leaned on their training and tried to make their way to the face of the mine where clear air was more readily available, which was critical because the air quality in the mine shaft after the explosion was well beyond any level a human being could survive for more than a few hours.
Scores of people were elated when the report came in that one miner had passed and that the other 12 were alive. But that jubilation, especially for the families gathered by the scores at the Sago Baptist Church, a short drive from the mine itself, turned to pure agony when they learned that a communication error was made.
In fact, 12 died: James A. Bennett, Jerry Lee Graves, Marty Bennett, George Junior Hamner, Terry Helms, Jesse Jones, Thomas “Tom” Paul Anderson, David William Lewis, Martin Toller Jr., Fred G. “Bear” Ware Jr., Jackie Lynn Weaver and Marshall Cade Winans. Only Randal McCloy Jr. clutched to life by himself in the darkness under the mountain.