The Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Mineral Resources Management said in a report it provided to ILN that the dispatcher at Buckingham Coal’s No. 7 operation near Glouster, Perry County, permitted a large track vehicle to come into the mine, but did not first ensure a small track unit using the same route was clear and out of the way.

Officials found the mantrips, including brake lights and sanders, were in proper condition and operational at the time.

“The company is to stress to employees that they must call for clearance to move on the track from one area to the next, and to call the dispatcher once they have cleared the area,” ODNR said.

“The mine has a tracking system that displays where all track traffic is at any particular time, but clearance needs to be received from the dispatcher before they proceed.”

The agency also noted that neither speed nor equipment failure appeared to contribute to the accident.

“The mistake of the dispatcher (not keeping track of the location of the track equipment), the dip in the track, limited vision, were the main factors contributing to the accident,” it said.

“The division will be issuing recommendations to the Buckingham Coal Company to ensure that future accidents of this nature are preventable, and will also assist in implementation of [our] recommendations.”

John Reich, Brian Post, Brian McLaughlin, Todd Sinift and Jeremy Hasman were the miners involved in the accident.

According to reports from local Ohio media, the two hospitalized with injuries, Reich and Post, have since been released.

According to federal data, the No. 7 bituminous mine, controlled by Buckingham owner James Graham, produced about 884,000 tons of coal last year and recorded just over 205,000 man hours.