the new mining safety law was part of a wider problem protested by members of Congress, and union miners had gone on strike that summer to protest the lack of enforcement. The understaffed agency had, at the time of the Hurricane Creek disaster, failed to issue a single fine despite citing thousands of safety violations at dozens of coal mines. Disaster On December 30, 1970, the 38 day shift workers entered the 36" tall mine shaft at 7 A.M. and crawled to a depth of about 2,400 feet. The explosion occurred at about 12:10 P.M. The bodies were removed within 24 hours and the mine was sealed until an investigation could begin. A survivor, A.T. Collins, was reentering the shaft after a lunch break and was blown out of the mine by the explosion. There was also one other survivor, Harrison Henson of Clay County, who had been sent outside to get tools. He had turned around to go back in only to see the mine explode in front of him. Collins was one of three miners who testified that he had seen primer cord – an illegal fuse – at the mine site. Illegal primer cord was found in the December 30 blast site, as well as at the site of a December 22 blast at the mine. According to a memoir by James D. Ausenbaugh, who was editor of the Courier-Journals state desk at the time of the disaster, one of the mine owners complained at the mine site about the 1969 mine safety law and those who had supported it. One of the bystanders, Leslie County Judge George Wooton, confronted the owner and beat him bloody. The owner was carried from the mine site and Wooton never faced any charges. Reaction President Richard Nixon quickly issued a statement offering sympathy to family and friends of the deceased miners, and promised to take "every appropriate step" to prevent future disasters. He dispatched some of his top aides, including Robert Finch. Charles Finley went on trial for negligent operation of the mine in February 1972. Disaster aftermath The bodies were taken to a grade school gymnasium in Hyden. Many bodies had been so damaged in the blast that they could only be identified by social security numbers written on their belts. Most of the miners came from Clay and Leslie counties, two of the poorest in the state, and