Earlier today, six miners were killed in an explosion in Raleigh County, West Virginia. The blast was reported around 3pm local time at Massey Energy Company’s Upper Big Branch mine. There are still 21 miners still unaccounted for, emergency personnel are still searching for the miners now.

The mine produced 1.2 million tons of coal in 2009, according to the Mine Safety and Health Administration, and has about 200 employees, most of whom work underground. It has caches of extra oxygen along emergency escape routes and airtight refuge chambers designed to provide enough air to keep miners alive for four days. At least three people have died at the mine in the past 12 years.

West Virginia requires all underground mines to have wireless communications and tracking systems designed to survive explosions and other disasters. While not all mines in West Virginia comply with federal standards, all have systems that meet state requirements. Massey Energy is a publicly traded company based in Richmond, Virginia, that has 2.2 billion tons of coal reserves in southern West Virginia, eastern Kentucky, Virginia and Tennessee, according to the company’s website.

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