Investigators from the Kentucky Office of Mine Safety and Licensing told ILN Friday that electrician/repairman Richard Coots Jr, 23, was working to repair a broken conveyor chain at Owlco Energy’s Mine No. 1 near Partridge at about 2am local time.
“He crawled under a mobile bridge which fell, pinning him underneath,” a spokesperson said.
A spokesperson from the US Mine Safety and Health Administration said its investigators were on site at the operation Friday.
The OMSL, which is also investigating, confirmed that Coots had been licensed as a miner for about five years but had just six weeks of experience for Owlco.
The Owlco mine, which operates at a 33 inch average seam height and extracts from the Owl seam, is currently closed. Neither agency could provide an estimate as to when the operation could reopen.
The death was the 14th recorded so far this year in the US and the fourth in Kentucky.
