Making Connections News

On March 9, 1976, the Scotia mine in Eolia in Letcher County, KY, exploded killing fifteen coal miners. On March 11, the mine blew up again, killing eight miners and three federal inspectors. The Scotia mine was owned by Blue Diamond Coal Company in Knoxville, TN This Making Connections News episode features a discussion on April 5th, 2025, with some of the members of the Westmoreland Mine Rescue Team who were the first to enter the mine to attempt rescue and recovery. They were then called back to enter the mine after the second explosion. Brian McKnight, professor of history at the University of Virginia at Clinch Valley, led the panel at the Harry M. Caudill Library in Whitesburg. Rescue team members David Breedlove, Gerald Tate, Allen Wolfe and J.R. Kimberlin share vivid and at times painful details of their experiences. At the time of the disaster they worked at Westmoreland mines located in Wise County, VA.