Annie O'Neill, Post-Gazette

Upshur County maintenance supervisor Gary Bailey, right, adjusts one of the crosses he and his crew made to honor the 12 men who died in the Sago Mine explosion in Tallmansville, W.Va. The crosses were placed on the lawn of the Upshur County Courthouse. The men put a white ribbon on the cross with survivor Randal McCloy Jr.'s name on it. The other men are Upshur County Commissioner Stephen Abel and maintenance worker Gary Brockelman.

The rest of the world will move on. In the weeks and months to come, there will be other disasters, other wars, other political scandals.

But for the families of the 12 men who died inside the mine in Tallmansville, W.Va., for the one who survives, for their relatives and friends, for the investigators searching for the cause of the mine explosion, for the people of these coal-rich hills 100 miles south of Pittsburgh, Sago will be a daily litany.

Some questions about the Jan. 2 accident may never be answered. But there is understanding to be gained by reconstructing what happened.

Today, we give the best account that can be given, 13 days after the tragedy, of who these men were, what happened to them that day, what brave efforts were made by the rescue teams, and what sad lessons may be pulled from this earth.

Chapter One:
Back to work at Sago Mine
The New Year was barely 24 hours old when Terry Helms pulled on work clothes, picked up sandwiches his fiancee had made for his lunch and stepped into the darkness of Newburg, W.Va. He drove south for the hour-plus trip to the Sago Mine, where he worked since the fall.

Chapter 2:
Sago explodes
Something ignites gas or coal dust in a sealed-off section of Sago Mine. It could be lightning. It could be sparks from a falling ceiling, because a closed section of the mine had been prone to roof collapses.

	MORE ON THE STORY Snapshots of the miners It was an experienced group of miners who went into the Sago Mine Jan. 2. Many were in their 50s and had worked in the mines for more than 25 years. Here are snapshots of the West Virginia men who died and the one who survived.
	Online Graphic: A look at the safety record
	Online Graphic: A Sago Timeline
	Online Graphic: Searching for the miners

Chapter 3:
Sago's tangled saga
The Sago mine had gone through an ownership change just months before the explosion. The new owners promise to stress safety, but the mine's safety record worsens late in 2005 as federal and state inspectors cite numerous shortcomings.

Chapter 4:
The rescue begins
As one crew exits safely, rescuers are forced to wait hours for carbon monoxide levels to drop before they can begin the arduous attempt to reach the other miners.

Chapter 5:
Joy to sorrow
Somehow, as mine rescuers shout news to each other, a grave mistake is made -- the word comes that 12 miners are alive, and the news spreads like wildfire. It then takes nearly three hours for officials to tell celebrating family members the awful truth.

Chapter 6:
The survivor
No one is sure how Randal McCloy was able to survive, and he has been unable to tell investigators what happened inside the mine. He remains in a coma at a hospital in Morgantown, W.Va.

Chapter 7:
'It's a long road'
No one can know what the dead miners' families are going through -- except those who have suffered similar disasters.

Chapter 8:
The investigation
Federal and state officials are poised to move ahead -- as soon as the deadly air in the mine clears.

About this special report
This special section was reported by staff writers Dan Fitzpatrick, Diana Nelson Jones, Cindi Lash, Steve Levin, Dan Majors, James O'Toole, Dennis B. Roddy, Rebekah Scott, Anya Sostek, Anita Srikameswaran and Steve Twedt. Editors of the section were Tom Birdsong, Mark Roth, Lillian Thomas and Greg Victor. It was produced by page designers Joyce Howard, Lauren Lake and editorial artist Kristin Synowka. The Associated Press also contributed.

Online discussion set for tomorrow, Tuesday
Join an online discussion of the Sago Mine disaster from noon- 1 p.m. tomorrow with Post-Gazette Editor for Investigations Greg Victor and staff writer Dan Majors, one of members of the Sago Mine reporting team. Also, Tuesday from noon to 1 p.m. join a discussion with Post-Gazette staff writers Dennis Roddy and Cindi Lash who were also part of the reporting team. Check back here at post-gazette.com to log-in as early as a half hour before each session.