Like so many coalfield tragedies, the deaths of 12 miners underground in West Virginia now seem to have been sadly predictable.

The federal government knew the mine was dangerous. The company knew the mine was dangerous. And so did some of the men who worked there, according to their families.

And, like other coalfield tragedies that have riveted the nation for a few days, this one will probably be forgotten all too soon.

It was just a little more than four years ago that 13 miners died in an explosion in an underground mine in Brookwood, Ala. Then, as now, Labor Secretary Elaine Chao and officials of the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration promised a thorough investigation. They eventually levied $435,000 in fines against the mine's operator, Jim Walters Resources.

But in November, the fines were reduced to just $3,000 by an administrative law judge who ruled that MSHA did not prove most of the violations.

With that kind of record, it's little wonder that mining companies would feel free to flout safety laws, especially under the Bush administration, which has pushed "compliance assistance" over strict enforcement.

At the Sago Mine where the 12 died, the list of safety violations was long and serious. Since May, federal inspectors had issued 13 unwarrantable failure orders, the most serious kind.

Unwarrantable failures are issued when management knows about an unsafe condition and fails to fix it or when the danger is so obvious that there's no excuse.

The citations against Sago included persistent problems with build-ups of flammable coal dust. The operation had been cited for not providing adequate ventilation to keep the mine clear of deadly combustible gases and failing to insulate electric wires. Sparks from electrical equipment can ignite coal dust and methane gas, thus causing underground explosions.

It was an explosion early Monday, as the mine reopened after a holiday break, that trapped 13 miners underground.

The cause of the explosion still is undetermined. From what little we know, the miners did what they could to save themselves. They hung a curtain designed to block the spread of deadly carbon monoxide, and each had a personal rescuer that can provide oxygen for a short time.

Twelve miners were found together behind the curtain; the one survivor was taken from the mine unconscious but moaning, according to The Associated Press. Another miner died elsewhere in the mine.

Our hearts go out to the families, whose suffering was compounded by a false report that the 12 had been found alive.

The jubilation lasted three hours before officials from the mining company, International Coal Group, informed the families that only one miner had survived.

With that backdrop, the investigation begins under a cloud of mistrust and suspicion.

That's a good reason for MSHA to convene a public hearing into the causes of this disaster, as mine safety advocate and former state and federal official Tony Oppegard urges.

The families of the miners and the public deserve to hear firsthand why their loved ones died, and that won't happen without a public hearing.