MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — An explosion that killed 12 workers at the Sago Mine likely was caused by a massive lightning strike that ignited methane gas in a sealed-off area, the mine's owner said Tuesday.
The company's own investigation turned up three pieces of compelling evidence of a lightning strike, all from 6:26 a.m. on Jan. 2, said Ben Hatfield, chief executive officer of International Coal Group Inc.
He said weather monitors confirmed an unusually large and powerful lightning strike near the mine; the U.S. Geological Survey confirmed a seismic event at Sago; and the mine's own atmospheric monitoring system signaled a combustion alarm.
The precise route the electrical charge followed remains under investigation, but Hatfield said there is no evidence that a nearby gas well contributed to the explosion.
Hatfield broke the news to miners' families in a series of private meetings Tuesday, and Sago workers were to be briefed Tuesday night as they returned to work. The coal mine is to resume production today.
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"While our independent investigation is certainly not the final word on the explosion, we are confident that the joint federal-state investigation will reach a similar conclusion," Hatfield said. "We are pleased that we can get our Sago employees back to work with the knowledge that the explosion was an unpredictable and highly unusual accident."
The blast trapped a crew of 13 men more than 250 feet underground for more than 40 hours. By the time rescue teams reached them, all but one had perished, most slowly succumbing to carbon monoxide poisoning.
Survivor visits his home
The sole survivor of the Sago Mine disaster visited his home for the first time since the Jan. 2 explosion Tuesday, eating a home-cooked lunch and visiting with his family during a three-hour visit.
Afterward, Randal McCloy Jr., 26, returned to the HealthSouth Mountainview Regional Rehabilitation Hospital, where he is going through months of therapy to recover from brain damage and other injuries.
