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WASHINGTON - The still mourning families of the victims of the Utah mine disaster have angry words for the Crandall Canyon mine owner and tough questions for the federal agency charged with safety oversight.
They want to know why their fathers, brothers, sons and grandfathers were allowed to work in risky conditions and if warning signs were ignored. More immediately, they want to know if they will ever be able to give their fallen miners proper burials.
Today, before a U.S. House committee, several relatives of the miners will venture into the spotlight they've so far avoided and tell their side of the tragedy that killed nine workers, six of whom remain entombed in the Crandall Canyon mine near Huntington.
"We trusted the mine owners that they would not mine in dangerous conditions," Jose Luis Payan, brother of fallen miner Juan Carlos Payan, says in prepared testimony. "Our trust was misplaced."
The brother adds in his remarks that his family hopes to recover Payan's body and return him to his home country of Mexico. "In the meantime, my mother cries herself to sleep as do my sisters," he says.
Only a few family members will testify today before the House Education and Labor Committee, but in prepared remarks submitted to the panel, many criticized mine co-owner Bob Murray. The Salt Lake Tribune obtained the testimony in advance of the hearing.
"I put my trust in Mr. Murray," says Aydaliz Sanchez, the daughter of Manuel Sanchez, who was killed in the Aug. 6 cave-in. "He said that he would get them out dead or alive. What happened to that promise? My dad deserves a grave and not to be left inside that mine like an animal."
Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., who also is scheduled to testify today, said as difficult as it may be, families deserve to know the full story of what happened in the mine's depths.
The survivors "endured weeks of excruciating, and possibly needless, uncertainty regarding their loved ones," Huntsman said in prepared testimony. "The families of all the miners who died and were injured deserve to have a full understanding of the circumstances that led to the deaths of their loved ones."
Pointing to his recent creation of a Utah Mine Safety Commission, Huntsman said the ''horrific accident at Crandall Canyon has been an extremely painful reminder that Utah must critically assess its role in ensuring mine safety.''
The testimony comes a day after a Senate hearing probing the disaster and the overall safety of miners nationwide, one of a series of congressional investigations into the tragedy.
Sen. Edward Kennedy said Tuesday that two federal agencies not sharing information about a potentially dangerous operation at the Utah mine was akin to an intelligence breakdown in the the fight against terrorists.
Kennedy, D-Mass., quizzed a federal mine regulation official on why he wasn't aware of a report by the Bureau of Land Management saying it was "untenable" to use a risky process in the Crandall Canyon mine.
The report was "not shared with us," responded Kevin Stricklin, head of coal safety for the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration.
"You don't get that information?" Kennedy stressed. "This is like the CIA not talking to the FBI when we're getting attacked by terrorists."
The report - released at a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing on the Utah tragedy and mine safety but previously reported by The Salt Lake Tribune - is by a BLM inspector who warned in 2005 of using a process called retreat mining or pillar pulling.
That operation entails mining walls of coal holding up the ceiling, and letting the roof fall.
Six miners Ð Payan, Sanchez, Kerry Allred, Don Erickson, Luis Hernandez, Brandon Phillips - were killed after intense pressures bearing down on the underground mine caused a bump or bounce, where coal exploded from the pillars causing a massive cave-in, trapping the men.
Ten days later, another bounce occurred, smothering rescue workers under heaps of coal. Three died and six others were injured.
The BLM inspector, Steve Falk, was not referring to the section where the six miners were trapped in that cave-in, but the report signaled deteriorating conditions at the rural Utah mine.
"The situation in Main West is untenable for future pillar recovery," Falk wrote in a Jan. 24, 2005 report. "No mining company in the area has ever pulled pillars in main entries with mined out sides and under 1,500 feet of cover."
The miners were some 1,900 feet underground.
Falk's report also noted that the previous owner's idea to use such mining techniques was "wishful thinking" and an attempt to extend the life of the mine.
Robert Ferriter, director of the mine safety and health program at the Colorado School of Mines, testified under questioning that after studying the mine's condition, he would have entered the mine only to see firsthand the effects of the pressure buildup, but that he would not have sent a work crew to mine it.
Asked to characterize the Crandall Canyon mine plan, Ferriter said, "I would classify this as a salvage operation."
One widow of a fallen miner left the room in tears Tuesday morning. Others either bowed their heads with their arms folded or stared blankly at the backs of the witnesses. Some were hesitant to come to Washington in the first place, and none wanted to speak to reporters after the hearing.
"These people are still grieving," said Sonny Olsen, an attorney representing some of the families.
But, he added, overall victims' relatives are pleased that the disaster is getting attention, especially the apparent problems before the cave-ins.
"There were obvious warning signs," Olsen said. "There were red flags that were ignored."
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* ROBERT GEHRKE contributed to this report.
* Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., questioned why officials with the MSHA weren't aware of a BLM report two years ago warning about the use of retreat mining at Crandall Canyon.
* Family members of the fallen miners were in the audience but didn't comment publicly.
* Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., introduced legislation to set up a system to take care of the families of mine accident victims similar to that of airplane tragedies.
* Mine Safety and Health Administration's coal mine safety director Kevin Stricklin said that the agency has halted all retreat mining operations west of the Mississippi and more than 1,500 feet underground, a decision that affects eight mines.
* Family members of the fallen miners will testify before the House Education and Labor Committee.
* Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. will also make remarks about the mine disaster.
Family coordinator is proposed
Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., introduced legislation Tuesday focused on caring for the families of fallen, injured or trapped miners. A part of Murray's bill mandates that MSHA appoint a director of family support services to coordinate needs of the families as well as serve as the liaison between the mine operator and the families.
The bill also would establish a procedure to designate an independent nonprofit to care for the families during tragedies and prevent unsolicited legal communications with the families for 45 days after an accident. Murray's bill is modeled after the law requiring care for families of plane disaster victims.