The miner has been identified as 26-year-old Jeremy Garcia.

Garcia had nearly three years experience as an underground miner and had worked at the Elk Creek Mine since September as a utility man on the continuous miner section, executive vice-president of Oxbow Mining Jim Cooper said.

The accident occurred about 12.30 pm when Garcia went to an area where supplies are stored to get some wire screen that is used for roof support to keep small materials from falling on miners, the Daily Sentinel reported.

Elk Creek Mine owner Oxbow Mining said when Garcia cut the metal band securing the screen material to the mine wall to get a portion of it, the whole bundle fell on him.

“When the miner cut the metal band holding the bundle of screen together, it released outward striking him,” the company said.

Cooper said Garcia was away from his crew for about 15 minutes before he was found by a safety engineer performing routine checks in the mine.

“Oxbow has lost a valuable employee, a co-worker and a friend,” Cooper told the Daily Sentinel.

“As strongly as we feel our loss, it does not register when measured against the enormous loss that his family is experiencing. Our heartfelt sympathy is for his family.”

The first coal mining death for 2007 is now being investigated by the Mine Safety and Health Administration.