Last bodies removed from W.Va. mine

MONTCOAL, W.Va., April 13 (UPI) -- The last bodies of the 29 miners killed last week in a coal mine explosion were recovered early Tuesday, officials said.

With the bodies retrieved, state and federal investigators can begin looking into what caused the Massey Energy Upper Big Branch mine to explode last week in what is the worst U.S. mining disaster in nearly 40 years.

The bodies of seven victims were recovered shortly after the explosion April 5, 13 bodies were removed Sunday and the final seven were retrieved Tuesday. Two miners were injured.

U.S. Attorney Charles T. Miller said Monday federal prosecutors were "ready, willing and able" to pursue an investigation, CNN reported.

"If the investigation undertaken by the Mine Safety and Health Administration reveals that criminal violations have occurred, we will work vigorously with investigators to pursue those offenses to the fullest extent of the law," Miller said in a statement released by his office in Charleston.

U.S. flags on federal buildings in the state will be flown at half-staff until Sunday in accordance with a proclamation U.S. President Barack Obama signed Monday.

Massey Energy Co., based in Richmond, Va., said in a statement released last week that it, too, will conduct reviews of the mine accident to ensure a similar accident doesn't occur again.

The West Virginia mining disaster was the worst in the United States since 1972 when 91 miners died in a mine fire in Kellogg, Idaho.