Community. here s cnn s ed lavandera. reporter: tony, there is a great deal of sadness flowing through this part of southern west virginia. mining might be the way of life around here, but it doesn t make this ordeal any easier. state highway 3 takes you through the heart of the southern coal mining region in west virginia. signs of coal mining are everywhere. these conveyor belts bring the coal down the mountain, they re put on trucks and hauled out. the belts cross over the only highway coming through here. one resident described this forgotten stretch to me as no-man s-land. to donna harper, there s no place like it. we found her spending a quiet morning with her grandchildren. what s it like to live around here? well, to most people it s slow. it s boring, but if i had my choice to live anywhere in the world, right here would be it. reporter: that s why when 25 miners died in an explosion and four more are trapped, she says this valley becomes family, even
Hundreds of people attended. extraordinary touching. we have been talking to pam napper who lost three members of her family, the strength she has in part for the love she feels. our ed lavandera is here with us this morning. you have been traveling up and down the coal river val sley talking to folks and getting a general sense of what people are going through. what did you find? reporter: i find a lot of people on edge waiting for this moment, the closure to find out exactly what has happened here. this area is unique to travel. we thought it would be a good idea to get people who aren t familiar with this idea a good perspective of what it is like here. state highway 3 takes you through the heart of this southern coal mining region in west virginia. signs of coal mining are everywhere. these conveyor belts bring the coal down the mountain, put on trucks and hauled out.