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COAL MINE FATALITY - On Thursday, June 4, 1998, a 25-year-old general laborer was assisting in the installation of a belt drive unit. Several permanent posts, set along the mainline conveyor belt entry, needed to be removed in the area of the belt drive installation. The general laborer was using a three-wheel buggy to remove the posts by bumping into them. Two posts had been "bumped-out" and when a third timber was "bumped", a large piece of roof rock (9' x 7' x 11") fell into the three-wheel buggy's operator compartment, inflicting fatal injuries to the laborer.

BEST PRACTICES
  • Through examinations must be conducted prior to the removal of roof supports.

  • All work of removing roof supports must be conducted from a remote and protected location.
  • This is the 11th fatality reported in calendar year 1998 in the coal mining industry. As of this date in 1997, there were 13 fatalities. This is the fifth fatality classified as a ROOF FALL in 1998.

    For more information:
    Fatal Alert Bulletin Icon MSHA's Fatal Accident Investigation Report [FTL98C11]