Sunday, September 16, 2007

1 Killed in West Virginia Coal Mine

1 Killed in West Virginia Coal Mine

Associated Press
September 16, 2007
SHARPLES, W.Va. (AP) — A worker was killed Sunday in an underground coal mine in southern West Virginia, a state mine safety official said.
Ron Wooten, director of the state Office of Miners' Health, Safety and Training said one person died at the Mountain Laurel Complex in Logan County, about 50 miles southwest of Charleston.
Wooten said his office is investigating, but that no other details — including the identity of the victim or how the person died — were immediately available.
The Mountain Laurel Complex is owned by a subsidiary of St. Louis-based Arch Coal. The complex employs about 250 people. Calls company representatives were not immediately returned Sunday.
It's the second mine fatality in West Virginia this month, and the fifth this year.
The death brings the nationwide number of mine fatalities this year to 25, according to data from the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration.