The incident happened at UK Coal’s Kellingley Colliery yesterday after a rock fall occurred at the mine trapping both the miners.

Yorkshire Ambulance Service's Hazardous Area Response team and mines recues services were called to the scene and were able to retrieve the miners from underground at about 7:30pm.

While one miner was taken to Pinderfields hospital, the North Yorkshire Police said the other man in his forties was found dead at the scene.

In a statement UK Coal said it would not release the names of the two men until all family members had been notified of the accidents.

A joint investigation into the incident will be carried out by Specialist Mine Inspectors from the Health and Safety Executive and North Yorkshire Police.

UK Coal is Britain's biggest producer of coal, employing 2900 people in Central and Northern England.

The coal mine has been plagued by a string of incidents in recent years, with a methane gas explosion at the mine last year reportedly forcing 218 miners to evacuate.

The incident comes less than a month after four miners died at a Welsh coal mine in the Swansea Valley.

The men had reportedly been working 90 metres underground when the retaining wall collapsed resulting in widespread flooding at the mine.

The investigation into the tragedy is continuing.