During the early morning hours of Jan. 2, an explosion at International Coal Group's Sago Mine in Upshur County trapped 13 miners about 250 feet below the surface. Rescue efforts ensued. About 37 hours into the ordeal, reports started circulating about the fate of the 13 coal miners. Family and friends were dealt a heart-wrenching blow during the early morning hours of Jan. 4. A rumor that 12 miners survived quickly began spreading at about 11:48 p.m. For nearly three hours, the families and local residents celebrated the news that 12 had survived. But company officials said they knew the information was wrong within 20 minutes of the initial announcement. Families were not informed of the miscommunication until nearly three hours later.

Monday, Jan. 2

• 6:30 a.m. -- An explosion rocks International Coal Group's Sago Mine in Upshur County. Residents living in the area said they felt their houses and trailers shake.
• 6:41 a.m. -- Surface workers receive a call that something serious has happened. Local, state and federal authorities are notified.
• About 8 a.m. -- Officials at St. Joseph's Hospital in Buckhannon are notified of a mine explosion and put on high alert.
• 6:23 p.m. -- The first rescue team reaches 1,000 feet in the mine.
• About 8 p.m. -- Second rescue team reaches 1,000 feet. Mine officials project first team is 1,500 feet into mine. Drill rig is on site.
• 10:42 p.m. -- Rescue crews are 4,800 feet in and find safe levels of methane and carbon monoxide. Drilling not progressing as well as hoped.

Tuesday, Jan. 3

• 6:50 a.m. -- Carbon monoxide levels in drill hole No. 1 are found to be triple the lethal limit. Second and third drill are holes planned.
• 10:30 a.m. -- Rescue teams are close to 11,000 feet into the mine. Rescue teams find no significant changes in gas levels. No massive burned or charred areas are found.
• 5:15 p.m. -- Rescue teams are 11,200 feet into the mine. Drill holes 2 and 3 are almost complete. No signs of explosion damage are found.
• 8 p.m. -- ICG officials announced one miner's body had been found near the area where the explosion occurred. The company said there was hope for the remaining 12 miners because their track-mounted car was found undamaged deeper in the mine.
• 11:15 p.m. -- Rescue crews signal to the surface that the 12 remaining miners have been found.
• 11:48 p.m. -- Upshur County residents holding vigil at the Sago Baptist Church start receiving word from a central command post set up by ICG that the remaining 12 of the 13 trapped miners have been found alive. The company does not confirm this information.
• 11:55 p.m. -- Television networks, news Web sites and radio stations begin broadcasting reports nationwide that 12 had survived. Many label the news as a "West Virginia miracle."

Wednesday, Jan. 4

• About 12:10 a.m. -- ICG officials and Gov. Joe Manchin learn the initial report claiming 12 miners survived is wrong.
• 1:30 a.m. -- An ambulance carrying an unidentified miner leaves the mine site and heads to Saint Joseph's Hospital in Upshur County. The miner later was identified as Simpson native Randal McCloy Jr., 27.
• Between 1:30 - 2:20 a.m. -- Local residents tell television news crews stationed near the Sago Baptist Church that the surviving miners are expected to greet family members at the church soon.
• 2:30 a.m. -- Dr. Susan Long at St. Joseph's Hospital reports miner removed from site is critically injured, but preliminary tests returned negative results for carbon monoxide.
• 2:46 a.m. -- ICG officials inform families at the Sago Baptist Church that earlier information regarding 12 survivors is incorrect. Ben Hatfield tells families one miner, McCloy, survived and is in critical condition at a Morgantown hospital. The other 12 miners, he said, are confirmed dead. Fights break out at the church, and local law enforcement controls the situation.
• 2:50 a.m. -- CNN is the first to televise the news that the miners previously believed alive are, in fact, dead. Upset family members begin leaving the church for the first time since the explosion.
• 3:10 a.m. -- ICG officials conduct a press conference officially confirming one miner had survived and the other 12 are dead. Ben Hatfield, ICG CEO and president, blames the confusion on a "miscommunication." Hatfield said the company will not issue another statement until all 12 bodies are retrieved from the mine Wednesday.