- CHARLESTON, West Virginia: Searchers went back inside a wrecked West Virginia coal mine Monday to pull out more bodies as federal investigators prepared to launch their probe of the explosion that killed 29 men in the worst US coal mining disaster since 1970.
While some of the dead have been laid to rest, nine bodies remained in Massey Energy Co.’s Upper Big Branch mine in Montcoal.
Efforts to recover them were stalled when high levels of volatile methane gas forced crews out of the mine Sunday.
Authorities have said high methane levels may have played a role in the disaster.
The mine has been repeatedly cited and fined for problems with the system that vents methane and for allowing combustible dust to build up.
Mourning continued Monday, exactly a week after the explosion as President Barack Obama on Monday ordered all US flags in the state flown at half-staff until sunset Sunday.