Jan. 27--Families of two more workers who died in the Sago Mine disaster have settled lawsuits with International Coal Group, court records show.

Lawyers for the estates of Fred Ware and Marty Bennett reached the settlements with ICG subsidiary Wolf Run Mining, according to documents filed in Kanawha Circuit Court.

Details of the deals were not made public.

The settlements bring to six the number of Sago families who have resolved lawsuits over the deadly January 2006 mine explosion.

Wrongful death cases filed against Wolf Run and ICG by six other Sago victims' families are still pending before Kanawha Circuit Judge Charles King.

At about 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 2, 2006, an explosion from a sealed underground tunnel ripped through the Sago Mine south of Buckhannon. Terry Helms, a fire boss, died soon after the blast from carbon monoxide poisoning.

Surrounded by smoke and toxic fumes, 12 other miners took shelter behind a makeshift barricade. Eleven of them died before rescuers reached them more than 40 hours later. Only Randal McCloy Jr. survived.

McCloy and the families of 11 of the miners who died sued Wolf Run, ICG and a variety of mine contractors. Section foreman Martin Toler Jr., a management employee, is the only victim for whom a suit was not filed.

So far, McCloy and the families of miners James Bennett, Terry Helms and Davis Lewis have reached other settlements.

Confidential settlements have also been reached between most of the Sago families and two ICG suppliers, Burrell Mining Products and Raleigh Mine and Industrial Supply. Burrell manufactured concrete foam blocks used to seal abandoned areas of the mine. Raleigh distributed the blocks.

Cases are still pending against some ICG contractors and suppliers, including CSE Corp., which made the emergency breathing devices that McCloy said malfunctioned during the disaster.

Federal investigators pointed to a lightning strike as the "most likely" ignition source for the Sago explosion.

The U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration concluded that stronger seals, proper methane monitoring and the removal of a pump cable from the sealed area where the explosion occurred could have prevented the disaster. But MSHA investigators did not cite ICG or Wolf Run with any violations contributing to the accident.

Lawsuits filed by the families cited a long string of safety violations prior to the disaster, the lack of required anti-lightning equipment, lax methane monitoring and poor construction of the mine seals.

ICG has told its stockholders that the company is "appropriately insured for these and other potential claims, and we have fully reserved our deductible applicable to our insurance policies.

"We will vigorous defend ourselves against the remaining complaints," the company said in last year's annual report.

Shareholders cautioned

ICG also cautioned shareholders that the company "may be negatively impacted by various factors" related to the disaster, including "diversion of management's attention from our day-to-day business, further negative media attention, any negative perceptions about our safety record affecting our ability to attract skilled labor, the impact of litigation commenced against us, any increased premiums for insurance and any claims that may be asserted against us that are not covered, in whole or in part, by our insurance policies."

Reach Ken Ward Jr. at kward@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1702.

Staff writer Andrew Clevenger contributed to this report.

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