According to local news reports, the incident occurred on Sunday just after 10pm local time at Patriot Coal’s No. 7 mine in Campbells Creek, near Charleston. The worker was taken to a local medical facility for treatment.
The mine is an underground room and pillar operation, but it was not clear if the accident occurred above or beneath the surface.
Patriot did not release public comment on the incident, and an ILN request for comment and details from the US Mine Safety and Health Administration was not returned by press time.
Campbells Creek No. 7 and sister mine No. 6 extract from the Winifrede seam, at an average seam height of 7.5 feet, and the Stockton seam, at an average height of 6.5ft, according to Patriot’s operational statistics.
MSHA’s injury records database showed that the No. 7 mine, operated by Patriot’s Midland Trail Energy, recorded three non-fatal days lost operator injuries in 2008, when it produced 452,300 tons of coal in 70,912 recorded man hours. No other 2009 operator injuries at the mine had been reported to MSHA before March 18.
