US TV station 14News quote Sebree Mining officials saying Thorpe and another employee were working on underground repairing a continuous miner head when it fell on Thorpe, crushing him.
Investigators with the Kentucky Division of Mine Safety are investigating the incident.
According to 14News they have closed the mine.
The Energy and Environment Cabinet says this is the second mine-related fatality in Kentucky this year. In May a truck driver at a Pike County surface mine died when he was pinned between a road grader and a truck.
