Trapped miners

(Scroll down for a heartbreaking update)

Here’s the latest from Reuters, and it’s not good news so far:

TALLMANSVILLE, West Virginia (Reuters) – Rescuers searching for 13 men trapped in a West Virginia coal mine found one body on Tuesday in a race to bring out survivors after an explosion sent poisonous gas through a shaft, the mine owner said.

Ben Hatfield, president of International Coal Group Inc. which owns the mine, told reporters one body had been found and the search was continuing for the other men.

Red Cross volunteer Tamila Swigler said family members gathered in a church near the mine were “breaking down” after the news of the death was broken to them by rescuers.

There had been no communication with the miners since they were trapped after an explosion at 6:30 a.m. (11:30 a.m. British time) on Monday at the Sago mine in central West Virginia.

Hatfield said the one man whose body had been found had apparently been working separately from the other 12. The other men had got off the vehicle they were riding on and had started moving “towards the outside,” but he did not know what had happened to them after that.

Prayers and thoughts go out to the miners and their families, who must be literally sick with worry.

UPDATE 12:15 AM EDT: The other 12 have been found alive – yes!

WED. AM UPDATE: Apparently someone got their wires crossed. All but one miner have been found dead. How did this horrible mix up in information happen?

WED. AN UPDATE II: Michelle Malkin asks “What went wrong?” and has several links of interest on this.