Sago Mine Disaster

Written By Justin Merriman
Gale Booth of Billington, W.Va., a retired miner who worked at the Sago mine stands at the mine's entrance to pay his respects to the 12 fallen miners on January 5, 2006.  "My heart is hurting right now," Booth said as he fought back tears.
 A photo of David Lewis, 28, of Newburg, W.Va., one of the miners who died in the Sago Mine disaster, hangs on a cross at a memorial in front of the Barbour County Courthouse in Philippi, W.Va.
 A flag flies at half-staff at the Sawmill Run Preparation Plant of the Hawthorne Coal Company not far from the entrance to the Sago Mine.
 Upshur County Sheriff Department's Lt. Mark Davis stands at the entrance to the road leading to the mine where 13 miners have been trapped for nearly 20 hours.  "I know a couple of guys in there...I'm not giving up hope," he said standing in the road directing traffic on January 3, 2006. 
 A copy of a note written by Martin Toler, Jr., 51, a section foreman who had spent 32 years working in coal mines and one of the 12 who perished in the Sago Mine.
 Wanda Groves is consoled by family members after hearing that her son, Jerry Groves, is alive. Mining officials released incorrect information to the miners' families that all but one miner had survived, only later to be told that 12 of the missing 13 miners were actually dead.
 The Sago Baptist Church sits quiet a week after the Sago Mine disaster in Sago, Upshur County, West Virginia. The church played a central role in the events that unfolded. 
West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin talks with members of the media near the site of the Sago Mine on January 3, 2006.
 Carl Utterback, right, and Chester Alexander, left, both of Moatsville leave David Lewis' funeral at the Stemple & Forman Funeral Home in Philippi, W.Va., on January 8, 2006.
The hearse carrying miner David Lewis leads a caravan of mourners to the Shiloh cemetery.
 Friends and family members carry the casket of Fred Ware Jr. into the Sago Baptist Church.
The gravedigger at the Shiloh Cemetery waits for David Lewis' funeral to end on January 8, 2006.

10 years ago this week I was in Sago, W.Va., covering one of the most difficult and emotional assignments of my career--the Sago Mine disaster. These are a few of the images I made in the days I spent there. 
Justin Merriman

Justin Merriman, a freelance photojournalist based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has traveled the world to cover politics, wars, natural disasters, civil unrest as well as covering assignment throughout the United States. His work has appeared in leading national publications and he has received multiple top journalism awards.   

After covering the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks – including the crash of United Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania – Merriman committed to chronicling the U.S. military and its war on terror.  He has followed this story across the United States and into the conflict zones of Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iraq. He also has covered life in Fidel Castro’s Cuba in 2002, India’s efforts to eradicate polio from its population, the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to Cuba in 2012, the 2013 conclave and election of Pope Francis in Rome, the second anniversary of Egypt’s revolution and subsequent unrest, Russia’s invasion of Crimea and the international political crisis that unfolded in Ukraine in 2014, a look inside of the Guantanamo Bay detention camp in 2015 and its uncertain future, and most recently, traveled the entire U.S. border with Mexico documenting issues on immigration. 

Merriman’s work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, the Atlantic, Time, USA Today, Sports Illustrated and other publications across the globe. 

He has been recognized with numerous regional, national and international awards from organizations including Pictures of the Year International, Society of Professional Journalists, the National Press Photographers Association, the Society for News Design, the Atlanta Photojournalism Seminar, the Northern Short Course, the Southern Short Course, the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, the Military Reporters and Editors Association, and the Western Pennsylvania Press Club. He was awarded Photographer of the Year by the News Photographer Association of Greater Pittsburgh four times and most recently was honored with the Keystone Press Award’s 2016 Distinguished Visual Award from the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association.

Born in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, Merriman graduated from the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg in 2000 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Writing. In 2009, the university awarded him its prestigious Alumnus of Distinction award. 

Currently Merriman lives in Oakmont with his fiancé, Stephanie Strasburg, a photojournalist with PublicSource. 

http://www.justinmerriman.com
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