Mine blast kills five in Kentucky
Five people have been killed in an explosion at a coal mine in the US state of Kentucky, its governor says.
Rescuers recovered the bodies from the Darby No 1 mine in the east of the state, Ernie Fletcher said.
One miner was able to leave the scene on foot and was being treated in hospital, the governor added.
The cause of Saturday morning's blast is not known. It comes four months after 12 miners died in an accident in the next-door state of West Virginia.
Authorities have yet to release the name of the latest victims at the mine near Holmes Mill in Harlan County, in a mountainous area near the Virginia state border.
Relatives had gathered before dawn at a nearby church to await word about their loved ones.
"There's just a lot of heartbroken people," church pastor Mike Blair said.
Spotlight on safety
Correspondents say safety issues have been a key concern of lawmakers following the blast in Sago in January.
One man was killed in the explosion and 11 others died from carbon monoxide poisoning.
Earlier this week a Senate committee backed a bill to make coal mining safer.
The legislation would require coal operators to give miners more emergency oxygen, store extra oxygen packs along escape routes and improve communications and tracking systems.
The sole survivor of the accident at Sago said that at least four of the emergency air packs had malfunctioned, but the mine owners said the packs had been checked regularly.
Sunday, May 21, 2006
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