The US Mine Safety and Health has not released the miner’s name but a spokeswoman told ILN that his injuries were not life-threatening.

The fractures, which have been confirmed to be isolated to the lower left leg, were received when the unit was backing up.

“The operator of the mantrip claims to have accidentally hit the tram pedal instead of the intended brake pedal,” the agency said.

“The miner never lost consciousness and was transported to the surface [where] the Sipesville ambulance crew elected to life-flight him to the Conemaugh Valley Memorial Hospital.”

A local news report said the worker, who was on the midnight shift, was trapped under the mantrip for a time and due to the distance inside the mine, rescue efforts took about 40 minutes.

Quecreek is operated by Quecreek Mining, a subsidiary of Russian miner and steelmaker Severstal.

The underground room and pillar mine made headlines in July 2002 when nine men were rescued from the operation after being trapped by water for nearly three days.

State and federal investigations into the accident have started.