Accident Report: Fatality Reference
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COAL MINE FATALITY - On Monday, June 16, 2008, a 45-year old roof bolter/assistant foreman with 9 years of experience was fatally injured in a roof fall accident at an underground anthracite mine. The victim was located along a coal rib near the operator's compartment of a continuous mining machine when the roof fall occurred. The roof fall was approximately 30 feet wide, 20 feet long, and ranged from 4 inches to 4 feet thick.

Best Practices
- Never travel inby supported areas.
- Always conduct a through visual examination of the roof, face and ribs immediately before work is performed and thereafter as conditions dictate.
- Always stay alert for changing conditions in your work area.
- Scale any loose roof material using proper tools and scale from a safe location.
- Know and follow the approved roof control plan including the approved pillaring procedures.
Additional Information
This is the 15th fatality reported during calendar year 2008 in the coal mining industry. As of this date in 2007, there were seven fatalities reported in coal mining. This is the third fatality classified as Fall of Roof in 2008. There were two fatalities in this category at this time in 2007.