CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The company that owns West Virginia’s Upper Big Branch coal mine will provide a full income, healthcare, education and childcare to the widows and children of the 29 coal miners killed in an April 5 explosion, company leaders said Monday.
Massey Energy Company CEO and Chairman Don Blankenship made the announcement at the Charleston Civic Center, where he and members of Massey’s board of directors also defended the company’s safety practices and said there was no indication of any unusual dangers before the explosion.
“In the past 20 years, we have done our best to engineer the dangers out of coal mining,” Blankenship said. “But on April 5, 29 coal miners died and we don’t know why.”
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