CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Gov. Jim Justice applauded state mine safety workers Wednesday for their efforts to rescue three people who entered an abandoned mine and got lost.
“These great people. They performed their job,” Justice said while flanked by 18 employees of the West Virginia Office of Miners’ Health Safety and Training.
The three people who were trapped underground near Whitesville for several days were rescued a week ago.
The plight of Kayla Williams, 25, Erica Treadway, 31, and Cody Beverly, 21, drew national attention.
Authorities believed the three entered the mine to take out industrial-grade copper for re-sale.
No matter what their intent, the governor said, authorities needed to make every effort to get them out as long as doing so was plausible.
“How many days in your life do you get to save somebody’s life? Not many. Not many,” Justice said.
This was the second recent incident of a reported entrapment in an abandoned West Virginia coal mine.
Wes Blackburn was reported missing in late November in an abandoned Blackhawk mine near Wharton, Boone County.
A search for Blackburn was called off after crews went 1,000 feet into the mine before being blocked by a collapsed roof. Authorities said it was also unclear whether Blackburn was inside.
Blackburn’s family members have protested in front of the Boone County Courthouse, demanding that authorities resume the search.
“We did make an attempt to re-enter the mine. We got blocked every way we went,” Eugene White, director of Miners’ Health, Safety and Training, said Wednesday.
The two recent events underscored the dangers for those who enter abandoned mines seeking copper.
White said people probably enter mines more frequently than what’s reported.
“This probably goes on a lot. Every day, probably. People go in these abandoned mines and we don’t know anything about it,” he said. “My opinion, it probably goes on a lot.”
In both recent instances, authorities were notified because someone managed to get out of the mine to tell about people still lost inside.
“It’s dark, and it’s darker and going to get dangerous the very second they go inside the mine,” Justice said.
Asked questions about the cost of the rescue, whether charges should be filed against those who entered the mines or if legislation could be crafted to make abandoned mines less accessible, Justice responded with few specifics.
But the governor said it’s hard to keep people out of places they’re determined to enter, even if difficulty and danger are clear.
“These areas are sealed, and these areas have dirt pushed up or whatever it may be to try to prevent people from going into these areas,” he said.
“There are surely people going in to do wrongdoing and steal copper. They don’t have any business being in the mines in any way, shape, form or fashion, never mind stealing something.”
During last week’s rescue, White said, rescuers had to assess risks, including accessibility, oxygen supply and stability of the roof.
The first attempts came up empty.
“While we were looking, they were moving, so that’s why it took so long,” White said.
Authorities received additional guidance from Eddie Williams, who earlier walked out of the mine reported others remained inside.
“They expanded the area a little bit,” Justice said. “That’s when they decided to go to the other side of the mine, ventilate the mine more and go back in with a larger rescue team on each side.”
White described the first rescue as about 5,000 feet underground.
The first woman to be rescued wasn’t immediately seen. She was by herself, sitting about 1,000 feet from the other two.
“I looked through a hole and shined light through it and hollered and I didn’t get nothing, and I walked away,” said one of the rescuers, Steve Evans.
But then, “She had seen my light and came toward it and she told us where the other two were. They were crying and they were real thankful.”
