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

    Beijing, Jan. 5 (Xinhuanet)-- Families want answers: why state and company officials let them rejoice for more than two hours before telling them that instead of 12 survivors, they would be bringing home 12 corpses.

    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 of the United States.

    Several Wednesday morning newspapers that went to press before the truth emerged ran front-page headlines such as "Miracle in the Mine." "Alive! Miners beat odds" was USA Today's headline with a picture of two smiling family members.

    However, hours later, joy gave way to grief and anger after 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 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.

    A woman stormed out of the sanctuary, cursing and yelling "liars!" A man lunged forward and had to be restrained by police. Two elderly women fainted and were carried into the fellowship hall, where they were given oxygen.

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    The one man survived after being trapped since Monday's blast that sent lethal gases through the Sago mine in central West Virginia. Randal McCloy, 27, was conscious and being treated for a kidney problem and remained hospitalized in critical but stable condition, doctors said.

    The mining executive has apologized for a "tragic miscommunication".

    Ben Hatfield said the company "fully" accepts criticisms over its handling of the incident, adding that officials "sincerely regret" the "tragic miscommunication.

    "In the process of being cautious, we allowed the jubilation to go on longer than it should have," he told a news conference on Wednesday afternoon. 

    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.

    "I feel that we were lied to all along," Anne Meredith, whose father died, was quoted as saying by Reuters, adding that she planned to sue the mine owner, International Coal Group Inc.

    U.S. President George W. Bush on Wednesday offered condolences to the families of 12 coal miners.

    "We send our prayers and heartfelt condolences to the loved ones whose hearts are broken," Bush said at the Pentagon, where he had a meeting with his national security team on the war on terrorism and Iraq.

    White House spokesman Scott McClellan said on Wednesday that the federal agency in charge of mining safety has opened an investigation to find out the cause of the explosion. Enditem

    (Agencies)