4 Pennsylvania Miners Testify in Grand Jury Probe of Accident

Four of the nine miners who became trapped in an underground flood after they breached an abandoned mine were questioned Wednesday by a state grand jury investigating whether the accident involved criminal wrongdoing.

Neither the state attorney general’s office, which convened the jury, nor a lawyer for the miners would comment on the miners’ testimony.

But attorney Howard Messer, who represents seven of the nine miners, said after the hearing he was encouraged that the state would conduct a thorough investigation of the July 24 accident at Quecreek Mine in western Pennsylvania.

Prosecuting attorneys asked each of the miners to recall what happened before, during and after the breach that flooded the mine, trapping the men for 77 hours, Messer said. A preliminary report by state and federal agencies had blamed the accident on inaccurate maps, which led the miners to mistakenly believe they were still some 300 feet away from the abandoned mine.