Miners' Families Vent Anger to Lawmakers

One rep blasts Feds, calls Utah collapse 'preventable'
By Neal Colgrass,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 3, 2007 7:50 PM CDT
Miners' Families Vent Anger to Lawmakers
Family members of miners killed in the Crandall Canyon mine tragedy in Utah earlier this year prepare to testify before the House Education and Labor Committee hearing on mine safety on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2007. Family members are from left, Kristen Kimber, widow of rescuer...   (Associated Press)

Families of 6 dead miners expressed anger and heartbreak to lawmakers today, blaming lax safety for the Utah mine collapse. Relatives said miners were afraid to speak up and continued working until the August 2 collapse. One lawmaker blasted a mining safety agency and called the incident a "preventable tragedy," CNN reports.

He also said that requests to Washington and the Murray Energy Corporation for documents have been ignored. "They have yet to comply with many of the basic requests for information," said lawmaker George Miller. He further slammed the Feds for cutting relevant staff and hiring coal industry officials to oversee the industry. (More Crandall Canyon stories.)

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