West Virginia to release report about Sago Mine explosion on Monday

Tuesday, December 5th 2006, 7:38 pm

By: News On 6

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) Nearly a year after an underground explosion led to the deaths of 12 miners, West Virginia officials say they will release their conclusions about the Sago Mine tragedy on Monday.

Mine safety chief Ron Wooten said Tuesday that the report was not finished and declined to preview any details.

``There will be questions that may never be answered,'' Wooten told the state Board of Coal Mine Health and Safety.

The report is being released to give the dead miners' families closure, Wooten said. Gov. Joe Manchin is scheduled to meet with family members Monday morning.

A spokesman for the mine's owner, International Coal Group, declined to comment.

Eleven miners died of carbon monoxide poisoning at the Sago Mine following the January 2nd explosion. Another miner was killed by the blast. There was one survivor, Randal McCloy Jr.