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COAL MINE FATALITY - On Monday, November 05, 2001, a 26-year old utility man working as a continuous mining machine helper on the 5 Left section in the Redstone coal seam (003-0 MMU) was fatally injured in a roof fall accident. The remote controlled continuous mining machine with wet-bed scrubber had just completed mining the crosscut through on the intake curtain side (C-run of an extended 4-run cut sequence, A, B, C, and D) from No. 7 to 8 entry. While mining the final five feet in the D-run on the return side, a roof fall occurred. The fall was approximately 3 ½ feet thick, 15 feet wide, and 45 feet long. The fall extended back into three rows of installed permanent roof bolts in No. 7 entry where the continuous mining machine operator and helper were located. The roof material struck both miners, seriously injuring the operator and fatally injuring the helper.

Diagram of Accident Scene

Best Practices

  • Always know and follow all provisions of your approval roof control plan.


  • Be alert to changing roof and rib conditions.


  • All miners should make good examinations and alert the supervisor of hazards.
More Information E-mail Suggestion for Accident Prevention Program Submit your own suggestion for a remedy to prevent this type of accident in the future.
Please specify if you wish your submission to be anonymous or whether your name may be used. Please include the year of the fatality and the fatality number.

This is the 36th fatal accident reported for the coal mining industry in calendar year 2001. As of this date in 2000, there were thirty-three fatalities reported in this industry. This is the 9th fatal accident, classified as fall of roof, reported in the coal mining industry in 2001. At this time in 2000, there were three fatal accidents, classified as fall of roof, in the coal mining industry.

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This bulletin is part of the Mine Safety and Health Administration's (MSHA) program to alert the mining industry in a timely manner of a tragic loss of life in the mines. We encourage you to consider the above information as you make safety decisions for or recommendations to your company or constituency. The information provided in this notice is based on preliminary data ONLY and does not represent final determinations regarding the nature of the incident or conclusions regarding the cause of the fatality.

For more information:
Fatal Alert Bulletin Icon MSHA's Fatal Accident Investigation Report




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