Preliminary Report - Fatality #3 - March 08, 2015

On Sunday, March 8, 2015, at approximately 9:00 p.m., a 44 year old assistant longwall coordinator working on the 12-East longwall section was fatally injured. The victim was shoveling loose material from between the longwall face and the pan line when a large piece of rib fell from the face and pinned him on the mine floor. The rib that struck the victim measured 12 feet long by 5 feet high by 1 foot thick. The rock was removed from the victim and he was placed on a backboard and transported from the longwall face to the elevator bottom where he was evaluated by emergency medical technicians (EMT's). The victim had no pulse and attempts to administer cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and an automated external defibrillator (AED) were unsuccessful. The victim was turned over to the Cameron EMS and transported to Reynolds Memorial Hospital in Glen Dale, West Virginia where he was pronounced dead upon arrival by Harry Galloway, Paramedic. The victim was then transported to Ruby Memorial Hospital for an autopsy.