As officials work to sort out the cause and happenings surrounding this week's coal mine accident at Tallmansville, W.Va. — including the miscommunication that 12 of the miners were found alive when they were in fact found dead — they also must focus their attention on why the mine was allowed to be operating at all.

Here was a mine that federal inspectors cited for 46 alleged violations of federal mine health and safety rules during an 11-week review that ended on Dec. 22. The mine reportedly received 208 citations from the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) during 2005, up from 68 citations in 2004.

Meanwhile, the West Virginia Office of Miners' Health Safety and Training reportedly issued 144 notices of violation against the mine last year, up from 74 in 2004.

With such statistics in play, it would seem federal and state mining officials should have been much more wary about the mine's continued operation than what they demonstrated.

Granted, International Coal Group apparently had demonstrated a commitment for improvements to the mine, which it acquired when it bought Anker West Virginia Mining Co. last March. It's now the task of investigators to determine whether any mine-safety violations that turned up during the latest review contributed to, or actually was the triggering force for, the explosion that led to the miners' deaths.

Beyond that, investigators must focus scrutiny on all of the procedures that were employed in trying to rescue the miners — and the timetable associated with those efforts. Knowledge that might be gleaned from the probe could guide rescuers at future mine emergencies — emergencies that surely will happen in the underground coal mining industry.

Fortunately, despite the dangers associated with the occupation, death tolls such as occurred this week are relatively infrequent in this country. This week's explosion, which took place at about 6 a.m. Monday, was West Virginia's deadliest coal mining accident since 1968, when 78 men died in an explosion at a mine in Marion County, an hour's drive from this week's tragedy.

Monday's accident was the nation's worst coal mining disaster since a pair of explosions tore through an Alabama mine on Sept. 23, 2001, killing 13.

David Dye, who heads MSHA, said not only would there be an official federal investigation of the tragedy, but that the probe also would look at "how emergency information was relayed about the trapped miners' conditions."

Print and electronic news media that published early editions Wednesday or provided continuing, live coverage as the drama continued — and therefore reported that the miners were found alive, when that was not true — were understandably troubled by the tragic turn of events at about 3 a.m. Wednesday when officials told friends and family members that all but one of the 13 trapped miners were found dead.

Not only should federal officials examine the information flow, which they have promised to do, but so should the news organizations that had reporters or crews in Tallmansville covering the drama.

No reputable news organization relishes the prospect of being victimized by inaccurate information or rumor.

Investigators will have a source of valuable information in the person of Randal McCloy, the tragedy's only survivor, assuming he recovers and assuming he has a recollection of what actually happened during the first moments of the emergency. Perhaps McCloy also will be able to shed light on if — and/or how — the mine's latest or previous alleged violations of federal mine health and safety rules might have contributed to the tragedy.

One thing is certain: The investigation will be a lengthy, multi-faceted probe on the precise reasons why such a veteran crew of miners faced a situation where all, except for one miner, were unable to survive.

The answer should be an indicator of whether or not federal officials were remiss in allowing the mine to remain in operation.

The sorrow surrounding the tragedy won't go away anytime soon, and neither will the many unanswered questions and suspicions that could in fact increase in number before the investigation concludes.