Six workers at a West Virgina coal mine are reported to have died after an explosion that occurred at the mine, according to major media outlets including CNN and MSNBC. It is feared that more than twenty others may have been trapped in the mine as a result of the explosion, although no reports have confirmed this suspicion.

There is no word on what may have caused the explosion. The blast is believed to have occurred at approximately 3 p.m. at the Massey Energy Upper Big Branch mine, which is located in Raleigh County. Emergency personnel are currently on scene trying to determine what may have caused the catastrophe, and more importantly, attempting to learn whether or not miners may be trapped in the rubble. Officials that operate the mine have yet to comment on the incident.

This is not the first time that an emergency type situation has occurred at the mine. Within the past decade, at least 3 other incidents occurred where workers were seriously injured or killed. These were not injuries were not sustained from an explosion-type event. We can only hope that these missing persons become accounted for and that officials determine what may have set off the explosion.

Updates as they become available.