Settlement Near in Sago Mine Disaster Lawsuit

A West Virginia judge will consider approving a settlement in the six remaining wrongful-death lawsuits filed by the families of miners who died in the Sago Mine disaster.

The workers were killed after a powerful methane gas explosion tore through the underground mine just as two crews of miners were starting work Jan. 2, 2006. Of 13 workers, only one survived.

The Charleston Gazette reports Kanawha Circuit Judge Charles King scheduled a hearing for Nov. 16.

Lawyers for the families filed paperwork indicating they had reach settlements with mine operator Wolf Run Mining Co., and resolved claims against parent company International Coal Group, as well as other defendants.

Terms of the proposed settlement were not disclosed.