According to information I picked up at the Poynter Institute Web page, coal mining has becoming increasingly safe over the years. A decade-by-decade breakdown of coal mining deaths is as follows:
2000-2001: 80
1990-99: 454
1980-89: 944
1970-79: 1,547
1960-69: [...]

An investigation into what caused the accident will apparently focus on allegedly inaccurate maps. It sound’s like their have already identified the cause, and now want to make it official. Look for the mining company to blame human error and the humans to blame the company.
Over at Curmudgeonly & Skeptical, Rodger Schultz made a snarky [...]