UPDATE: Governor Confirms!... LATER UPDATE: Reports Wrong! All But 1 Miner Found Dead...
By Brad Friedman on 1/3/2006, 9:01pm PT  

Good news (we hope). All three cable nets are reporting that 12 of the trapped miners have been reported as having been found alive...

AP has the breaking story here. The news, so far unconfirmed by officials, seems to be coming from "Family Members". We pray they have good info:

Twelve miners caught in an explosion in a coal mine were found alive Tuesday night, more than 41 hours after the blast, family members said.

Bells at a church where relatives had been gathering rang out as family members ran out screaming in jubilation.

Relatives yelled "They're alive!"
...
Neither the company nor the governor's office immediately confirmed the news.
...
A relative at the church said a mine foreman called relatives there, saying the miners had been found.

One of the minors was reportedly found dead earlier this afternoon.

I had hoped to post something on this today --- and perhaps David Edwards can update this item with some video --- but I was tremendously moved and impressed by the remarks and demeanor at the Press Conference very late last night (about 2am PT) by Ben Hatfield, the CEO of the mining company, International Coal Group Inc. His apparent candor and willingness to take all questions from reporters is something not often seen these days from CEO's or others who find themselves at such pressers (elected officials especially, of course). Hopefully David can add some video to this item, or the commenters can jump in with appropriate links to relevant items. A short account of the conference late last night is here.

UPDATE: WV Governor seems to now be confirming:

"They told us they have 12 alive," Gov. Joe Manchin said. "We have some people that are going to need some medical attention."

VERY LATE UPDATE: 2:38am Tragic news. The reports were all apparently wrong. All but one miner was found dead. Just now from AP...

TALLMANSVILLE, W.Va. - In a stunning and heartbreaking reversal, mining officials told family members early Wednesday that 11 of the 12 trapped coal miners initially thought to have survived a mine explosion had died.

The devastating news came more than three hours after Gov. Joe Manchin announced he had been told 12 of the miners survived the disaster. Rescue crews found the first victim earlier Tuesday evening.

"About the confusion, I can't tell you of anything more heart-wrenching than I've ever gone through in my life. Nothing," Manchin said.

Complete late update here...

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