MP Visits Scene Of Yorkshire Mine Tragedy

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper visited a North Yorkshire pit where a miner died in a roof collapse today and said everyone's thoughts were with the man's family.

An ashen-faced Ms Cooper talked to management and unions at Kellingley Colliery, near Knottingley, on her way to the Labour Party conference in Liverpool.

Her visit came as a full-scale investigation got under way to establish how the man died.

Ms Cooper, who is MP for Normanton, Pontefract, Castleford and Knottingley, said: ``All the people I've talked to this morning - the management and the unions and the workforce - everybody's just really shocked by what's happened but also thinking about the families involved. All of our thoughts must be with them this morning.

``I think there's a sense of shock still at the moment and obviously the investigation's really important, that's started already.

``It's really important we get detailed and full answers.

``But I think the thing that's uppermost in people's minds is just feeling for the family, thinking about the miner who's died and I think all our thought are with them.''

A major rescue operation was put in place last night after two miners were trapped 800 metres underground.

One man was brought up injured and today union officials said he was out of hospital and ``doing okay''.

The dead man has not yet been named.

It is the second tragedy to hit the coal industry in a fortnight following the deaths of four men in a flooded colliery in South Wales.