Officials for the company confirmed to International Longwall News Monday that Eldon Todd Meadows, 44, who had over seven years of experience with Consol, was struck in or around his head by a piece of roof rock while conducting regular bolting operations underground at the mine.

“The preliminary information that we have is that Mr Meadows was working at the drilling machine when a piece of rock fell from the roof, striking him,” Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy’s Mike Abbott added in an interview with local media outlets.

He was bolting up at the face of the mine, Abbott said, when the piece of rock measuring 50in wide, 55in long and approximately 4–6in thick dropped.

“Our preliminary report is that he died as a result of a serious head injury,” Abbott said.

Consol senior vice-president of external affairs Thomas Hoffman said that the mine resumed work with the 3.30pm shift Saturday after observing a 24-hour idle period. Its internal investigation, as well as state and federal evaluations, is ongoing.

There were no other injuries in the fall, Consol added.

The death is the second in coal mining for the state of Virginia in 2008; the first occurred April 22 at Osaka Mining Company’s No. 1 Mine near Appalachia after a roof fall.

A request for additional details from the US Mine Safety and Health Administration was not returned Monday.