The Nation : 10 Killed in Fire at Kentucky Coal Mine

Methane gas ignited in a flash “like a flame thrower” in a coal mine in Wheatcroft, Ky., killing 10 miners in the nation’s worst coal mine disaster in five years, authorities said. There were conflicting reports of the number of miners injured in the fire at the William Station Mine, but its parent company, Costain Coal Inc., said no one was trapped underground. The mine had been cited by the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration for high levels of methane gas about two months ago, Costain President Charles Schulties acknowledged at a news conference. The exact cause of the fire was not known, but safety administration spokesman Sam Stafford said such fires are usually caused when a piece of metal equipment hits stone and causes a spark. It was the worst coal mine disaster since 27 miners were killed in 1984 in Utah.