On this day in 2010 Massey Energy’s Upper Big Branch Mine in Montcoal, West Virginia, suffered a coal dust explosion, killing 29 out of the 31 miners working at the site that day.
MHSA released its final report on December 6, 2011, finding that large numbers of safety violations at the mine contributed to the deadly explosion. MHSA issued 369 citations and assessed more than ten million dollars in fines and penalties.
The disaster resulted in Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship being convicted of a misdemeanor charge of willfully violating safety standards. He was sentenced to a year in prison.
The Upper Big Branch mine explosion was the deadliest since 1970, when 38 miners were killed at Finley Coal Company’s No. 15 and No. 16 mines in Hyden, Kentucky.
