Roof Fall to Blame for 2 Mining Fatalities
The investigation continues today in to the death of two miners in a southern West Virginia coal mine. Brooks Run Mining Company says a preliminary investigation shows a roof fall at its Cucumber Mine on Saturday was localized to the area where the two men were working. Killed in the accident were 48-year-old James D. Thomas of North Tazwell, Virginia, and 33-year-old Pete Poindexter of Rock, West Virginia. The two men were engaged in a mining practice called retreat mining when the roof fall occurred. At the time of the accident, 36 miners were working. Retreat mining is conducted when miners back out of a mined-out section. As they back out, miners remove pillars of coal that had been used to support the mine’s roof. Thomas had worked as a roof bolter at the mine since last July. Poindexter had been employed as a utility man at the mine since last May. The mine began operating last January and employs 114 people. Brooks Run is a subsidiary of Abingdon, Virginia-based Alpha Natural Resources. Thomas and Poindexter are the first coal mining deaths in West Virginia this year, and the second and third in the nation since January First.
Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
