Probe Targets Foremen in W.Va. Mine Disaster West Virginia officials have issued 253 violations in the Upper Big Branch mine disaster, targeting two foremen whose failures may have contributed to the conditions that killed 29 men in 2010. The violations are included in an Office of Miners' Health, Safety and Training report released Thursday. It's the fourth and final report on the tragedy at the former Massey Energy mine. It comes the day after federal prosecutors charged the former superintendent with fraud and signaled they are going after other managers. The state says foremen Ricky Foster and Terry Moore repeatedly failed to clean conveyor belts and apply rock dust from December 2009 until the explosion. Pulverized limestone neutralizes highly explosive coal dust, which investigators have said contributed to the blast.