Related:13 miners trapped in US colliery blast

Int'l Coal Group CEO Ben Hatfield told a press conference that only one miner had survived. (photo: Xinhua/Reuters)

    UPSHUR, the United States, Jan. 4 (Xinhuanet) -- Only one of the 13 trapped miners in an eastern U.S. mine is alive, the mine's owner announced early Wednesday.

   Late Tuesday, celebrations erupted as word spread among family members that 12 miners had been found alive at the Sago Mine in the Upshur County, West Virginia.

   However, hours later, Ben Hatfield, president and CEO of the International Coal Group which owns the Sago Mine, told a pre-dawn press conference that a "miscommunication" between the rescuers and the command center had resulted in the spreading the wrong information that all but one of the 13 miners was alive.

   Instead, all but one of the missing miners were dead, he said.

   Calling the disaster as the "worst day of my life," Hatfield said he knew within 20 minutes that an error had been made, but said he did not inform jubilant family members.

   "We couldn't correct the information without knowing more about it. Let's put this in perspective -- who do we tell not to celebrate? All I knew is, there weren't 12 people that were alive. It was somewhere between 12 and zero, " he said.

   Hatfield said he understood family members' anger.

   In all, 12 miners died, including a man whose body was found closer to the mine entrance Tuesday evening.

   The sole survivor, Randy McCloy Jr., was in critical condition and being transported Wednesday to West Virginia University Hospital in Morgantown after being stabilized at nearby St. Joseph's Hospital.

   Doctors said the 27-year-old miner was "critically ill," but test results did not show the presence of carbon monoxide in his blood and he had no visible injuries.

   He was believed to be in shock, dehydrated and hypothermic. Hospital staffers warmed him up and gave him liquids, and his vital signs improved quickly.

   The bad news dashed the hopes of some 200 family members and friends who had been waiting in a church just opposite to the mine entrance for two days.

   Chaos broke out in the church and a fight started. About a dozen state troopers and a special police team were positioned along the road near the church for the concern of violence.

   Witnesses said one man had to be wrestled to the ground when he lunged for mining officials.

   Thirteen miners had been trapped some 85 meters below the surface of the Sago Mine after the explosion early Monday, West Virginia's deadliest mining accident since November 1968, in which 78 men died.

   U.S. Department of Labor promised an investigation.

   Acting Assistant Secretary of Labor David Dye, who also heads the department's Mine Safety and Health Administration, said that the probe will include "how emergency information was relayed about the trapped miners' conditions." Enditem

Relatives of the trapped miners wait to hear news of 13 miners who were trapped after an explosion in Sago, West Virginia January 3, 2006. (Xinhua photo)

Miners who are part of a rescue team prepare to enter the Sago mine in Tallmansville, West Virginia January 3, 2006.(Xinhua/Reuters)