Mine disaster
If all the men in the West Virginia mine disaster are found dead, it will be the deadliest U.S. mine accident since the 1970 Kentucky disaster.
Louisville Courier-Journal women’s page editor Carol Sutton covered the 1970 story – it was a story that she later said impacted her more than any other.
From my article about Sutton:
“The accident killed 38 miners in an explosion in Hayden, Kentucky. The mine blew up on the evening of December 30, 1970. At 4 a.m. the next day, Sutton and a photographer drove through a 10- inch snowstorm to get to the community. They arrived to a gymnasium full of burned bodies. The next day, Sutton wrote:
The snow fell outside the school all day as widows, mothers, sisters, brothers and fathers came to identify their loved ones. Mrs. Jones never entered the gymnasium. Tears were not far from her eyes as she talked with relatives and friends in the hall. When the ambulance stretcher carrying her husband’s body rolled past her, Mrs. Jones grabbed a female relative for support. She was on the verge of collapse and had to be led to her car.
Twelve years later, Sutton recalled of the moment, “I can still see it.” A year after the explosion, Sutton went back to the community to talk to the families devastated by the tragedy, and she reached someone from each of the 38 families, going into areas where there were no roads. She recalled the poverty she witnessed: “There are no choices there; it’s the only option for well-paying work.”
Mine disaster
If all the men in the West Virginia mine disaster are found dead, it will be the deadliest U.S. mine accident since the 1970 Kentucky disaster.
Louisville Courier-Journal women’s page editor Carol Sutton covered the 1970 story – it was a story that she later said impacted her more than any other.
From my article about Sutton:
“The accident killed 38 miners in an explosion in Hayden, Kentucky. The mine blew up on the evening of December 30, 1970. At 4 a.m. the next day, Sutton and a photographer drove through a 10- inch snowstorm to get to the community. They arrived to a gymnasium full of burned bodies. The next day, Sutton wrote:
The snow fell outside the school all day as widows, mothers, sisters, brothers and fathers came to identify their loved ones. Mrs. Jones never entered the gymnasium. Tears were not far from her eyes as she talked with relatives and friends in the hall. When the ambulance stretcher carrying her husband’s body rolled past her, Mrs. Jones grabbed a female relative for support. She was on the verge of collapse and had to be led to her car.
Twelve years later, Sutton recalled of the moment, “I can still see it.” A year after the explosion, Sutton went back to the community to talk to the families devastated by the tragedy, and she reached someone from each of the 38 families, going into areas where there were no roads. She recalled the poverty she witnessed: “There are no choices there; it’s the only option for well-paying work.”
