2 Killed, 12 Hurt in Utah Mine Fire

PRICE, Utah (AP) â€” A fire broke out in a coal mine early Tuesday, killing two miners and injuring at least 12 others. <br><br>Four miners escaped uninjured from the blaze at the Willow Creek Mine, about

Tuesday, August 1st 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

PRICE, Utah (AP) â€” A fire broke out in a coal mine early Tuesday, killing two miners and injuring at least 12 others.

Four miners escaped uninjured from the blaze at the Willow Creek Mine, about 12 miles northeast of Price, said Dennis Dooley, Carbon County emergency management director.

Two miners had been reported missing after the fire, but Dooley said the mine had later confirmed the two were killed in the blaze. He had no immediate detail on where the bodies were.

Eight of the injured were taken to Castleview Hospital in Price and four others were treated at the scene.

At the hospital, nursing officer Bonnie Cook said two were treated and released and six others were in stable condition. The injured suffered burns, smoke inhalation and trauma, she said. Two of the six were to be taken to the University of Utah Health Sciences Center in Salt Lake City for further treatment.

The fire, which broke out about 1:30 a.m., was put out and rescuers were able to enter the mine, Dooley said.

The mine is operated by Ruhr Coal. Federal Mine Safety Health Administration investigators were on the scene. The cause of the fire was not immediately known.

Price, a community of about 9,000 people, is 100 miles southeast of Salt Lake City. According to federal figures, there are about 86,000 U.S. coal miners working primarily in Wyoming, West Virginia and Kentucky.

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On the Net:

Mine Safety Health Administration: http://www.msha.gov