Agency enforcement administrator Bill Tucker said late last week during the event that its investigation was ongoing; in fact, its flame and forces team was still reviewing the underground areas of the mine.

“Even today, we still have teams underground,” he told a large crowd at the Charleston Civic Center, who were gathered for the April 7-8 conference.

“I guess the state’s approach is basically … we’re trying to go through the process of elimination. We’re looking at everything and getting all the information that we possibly can and looking at everything that we can think of.”

To date, the WVOMHST has compiled hundreds of pieces of evidence and more than 100,000 pages of documents. More than 20,000 photos have been taken, and that does not include the many hours of video that has been recorded throughout the mine.

Tucker said the personal interview portion of the investigation was continuing, as some individuals to be recalled were still being scheduled in. More than 300 interviews have been completed and logged.

“At this point … we haven’t drawn any conclusions,” he said.

“There’s still a lot that needs to be done.”

In fact, Tucker noted, officials had just approved additional overtime for the agency to complete more interviews. The retirement of some staff, including some who were involved in the probe, had been an obstacle for the already thinly staffed office.

The International Health and Safety Symposium adjourned Friday.