METAL/NONMETAL MINE FATALITY - On May 26, 1997, a contractor employee with 28 years of mining experience was killed at a gold mine. A shaft sinking bucket with an electrician it it was being lowered to the third deck of the galloway stage, near the bottom of the shaft. The bucket crosshead assembly stopped at the galloway chairs but did not release the bucket until slack occurred in the hoist rope. The bucket released and fell about 34 feet, fatally injuring the victim as he was walking across the bottom galloway stage door and seriously injuring the electrican. This is the 32nd fatality reported in calendar year 1997 in the metal and nonmetal mining industries. As of this date in 1996, there were 23 fatalities reported in these industries. This is the first fatality classified as hoisting in 1997. There were no hoisting fatalities during the same period in 1996.

MSHA's Fatal Accident Investigation Report [FTL97M32]