BUCKHANNON, W.Va., May 2 (UPI) -- A hearing into the cause of West Virginia's Sago mine disaster broke new ground Tuesday by including relatives of 12 men killed in the blast, a report said.
"Historically, investigations of mine disasters in the United States have never involved the families of the victims," said lead state investigator J. Davitt McAteer. "That era ends today."
McAteer said he hopes the Buckhannon, W.Va., hearings result in important changes in U.S. mine safety "so that the Sago Mine disaster will be remembered as a turning point as well as a tragedy," the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.
In mid-March, officials with mine owner International Coal Group said the January methane explosion was ignited by lightning more than a mile away.
ICG officials and experts were to testify Wednesday at the hearings that also include the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration, the report said.
