At approximately 5:35am Monday morning, an underground mine blew out directly above the town of East Bank, West Virginia, 20 miles southeast of Charleston, the state capital. Route 61 will be closed for the near future according to DOT employees on the scene; East Bank Middle School was evacuated and closed for the day. Mayor Blair could not be immediately reached for comment on whether school will be in session tomorrow or not.
Residents were gathered outside to watch the waters cascading down their mountain. One lifelong resident, Lois Armstrong,described it, “They’ve done everything to Coalburg Mountain–they mined it underground, they surfaced mined it and now they’re mountaintop removal coal mining. Their blast shake my dishes and every rock on this mountain…”