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COAL MINE FATALITY - On Saturday, October 20, a 54-year old electrician was fatally injured when he came in contact with a conveyor belt on the section. The circuit breaker for the continuous miner had repeatedly "tripped" throughout the shift. The victim had reset the circuit breaker several times and was in the process of gathering equipment to troubleshoot. The victim apparently fell onto the moving belt and was dragged under the mobile bridge carrier dolly mounted to the low-low belt. The victim had approximately 26 years of mining experience 2 weeks of experience at this mine at this activity.

Photo of Accident Site


Best Practices
  • Ensure that the low-low belt is not in motion before exiting the mobile bridge operator's compartment when adjacent to the low-low belt structure.
  • Do not work or travel along the sides of the low-low belt when the mobile bridge dolly and belt are in motion.
  • Install and maintain warning signs in the adjacent crosscuts and on the inby and outby ends of the low-low belt structure to prohibit miners from entering the area while the belt is in motion.
  • Install and maintain on/off switches in safe locations along both sides of the low-low belt and in the adjacent outby crosscuts.
  • Install an audible and visual warning system to warn persons the conveyor belt will be started.
    • More Information E-mail Suggestion for Accident Prevention Program Submit your own suggestion for a remedy to prevent this type of accident in the future.
    Please specify if you wish your submission to be anonymous or whether your name may be used. Please include the year of the fatality and the fatality number.


    This is the 25th fatality reported in calendar year 2007 in the coal mining industry. As of this date in 2006, there were 41 fatalities reported in the coal mining industry. This is the second powered haulage fatality in 2007. At this time in 2006, there were six fatalities in this classification.

    The information provided in this notice is based on preliminary data ONLY and does not represent final determinations regarding the nature of the incident or conclusions regarding the cause of the fatality.


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