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This posting serves to provide a public notice to employees of the mine, employees of the mining company(s), employees of independent contractors with any connection to the mine, persons with any connection to the mine, and any person with information regarding the cause or contributing factors of this accident.
Please provide any information to:
Harry Wilcox, Lead Accident Investigator
Phone: (618) 997-0584 ext 33
At approximately 7:53 pm CST on December 8, 2015, a 20-year-old supplyman was fatally injured while hauling a longwall face conveyor chain on a shield trailer pulled by a diesel tractor down a 9 (nine) degree slope haulage/belt travelway that was approximately 2,900 ft. long. The victim was unable to negotiate the left turn at the crosscut at the bottom of the slope and impacted the coal rib. The 5th wheel trailer connection on the tractor broke on impact and the trailer traveled over the tractor and sheared off the canopy of the operator's compartment. The victim received fatal blunt force injuries.
COAL MINE FATALITY -- On Tuesday, December 8, 2015, a 20-year-old supply man with 2 years of mining experience was killed while driving a tractor that was pulling a shield hauler trailer loaded with a longwall face conveyor chain down a nine degree inclined slope. He was unable to navigate the left-hand turn at the bottom of the slope and collided with the coal rib causing the 5th wheel trailer connection to break. The trailer hit the operator’s compartment and fatally injured the victim.
UNITED STATES
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION
COAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH
REPORT OF INVESTIGATION
Underground Coal Mine
Fatal Machinery Accident
December 8, 2015
