prayer warriors: I'm also praying for the miners and their families. This is so sad. so much time gone by, but we should pray for all involved.

Isn't it awful? I have been praying for them and their families.

They actually heard some noise from inside the mine yesterday! Hopes are restored that it is the miners. They are drilling another hole where they heard the sounds and are hoping to reach them and provide them with food and water until they can clear the rubble away and get them out.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the miners and their families.

Darlene

Doesn't it seem as though there have been more mining accidents in the last two years, than ever before? Does anyone have a good reason for this? It's so tragic.

I think mining is one of the worst jobs a human being could ever have. Not only dangerous, it's unhealthy, never mind not seeing daylight all day. My deepest respect goes out to all these hard working men, who sacrifice their lives for our well being.
I don't know how it is in America, but mining accidents happen in Europe on an almost regular basis.

I have no research behind this statement, but I don't think we have mining accidents on a regular basis.
But, we have had a few big ones lately.

There is no way that I would ever take a job in a mine. I agree, Hannelore, my deepest respect for anyone that would work in a mine.

Again, with little knowledge, I heard that this type of mine is the most dangerous, and seldom used in this country. Anyone know what I am talking about?

Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse it did, last night 3 rescuers were killed as well trying to save the 6 miners. And 3 others went to area hospitals badly injured.
Dotsie, they said that there has been an abundant increase in underground sysmetic activity in that area. A small quake then followed by many even smaller ones, 27 in all, causing the earth to move and shift. Yesterday there was another one right before those rescuers were lost. They have suspended rescue operations for now.
Our entire earth is zigzagged with millions of fault lines and eventually there is going to be the Quake of the century, and no one knows how much will be destroyed, when or where...
God bless the miners who do such a horrible, dangerous job and for so little too. They are under paid at best and always have been...

I think the reasons they're having 'bumps' Chatty is because of the pockets they dig out underground and the mountain is reacting to that by falling in on itself. Like they said today there is no amount of support that is going to keep a mountain from collapsing in on itself. That reason alone would make me question doing that for a living. I cannot imagine what those families are going through right now...if that was my Larry down there I would probably lose it big time.

Dotsie, I'm not sure that there are anymore than there ever, but maybe with such mass media coverage we just hear about them now. I'm with everyone else here, I can't even imagine this kind of work. I heard a blip on the news the other day that when the initial collapse happened the miners were "retreat mining", which is the most dangerous and deadly. I googled and found an article:

Retreat mining is where pillars of coal are used to hold up an area of the mine's roof. When that area is completely mined, the company pulls the pillar and grabs the useful coal, causing an internal collapse.

(As they do this they apparently back out and repeat the process until all the coal is mined.)

A former mine official says it's the most dangerous kind of mining there is.

A federal report says that a coal miner on a pillar recovery section is more than 3 times as likely to be killed in a roof collapse than workers in other parts of the mine.

Between 1992 and 2001 according to a report, 100 miners died in roof collapses, 27 of those deaths happened during retreat mining.

On a personal note, God Bless those rescuers who died trying to rescue their fellow workers and all the others who are still trying.

The whole story is so tragic. And to think they are doing this work for us.