Boss knew survival reports were wrong after 20 mins

A coal company executive says it became clear within 20 minutes that the news anxious family members had received about the survival of a dozen trapped miners was terribly wrong.

Yet for three hours, church bells rang in celebration, families joined arm-in-arm to sing joyous hymns, the governor proclaimed it a miracle, and television newscasts and newspapers spread the word around the world.

When the truth finally unfolded this morning, with families members called back and told the 12 were actually dead and only one miner survived, joy turned instantly to fury and a scuffle broke out when relatives lunged at a coal company official.

International Coal Group chief executive Ben Hatfield said families were not told of the mistake until three hours later because officials wanted to have all the information right first. “Let’s put this in perspective. Who do I tell not to celebrate? I didn’t know if there were 12 or one (who were alive). Until we had people who could measure the vital signs ... we didn’t want to put the families through another roller coaster,” Hatfield said.