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Fatality Alert #11 & #12 - October 31, 2017

Accident Report: Fatality Reference

METAL/NONMETAL MINE FATALITY – On October 31, 2017, a 340-ton haul truck ran over a passenger van carrying nine miners. The driver of the van and the miner in the front seat were fatally injured. Of the remaining seven miners, one suffered a non-life threatening injury.

Fatality 11 and 12 accident scene

Best Practices

  • When approaching large mobile equipment, do not proceed until you communicate and verify with the equipment operator your planned movement and location.  Provide radio communication systems between vehicles and large mobile equipment.
  • Ensure, by signal or other means, that all persons are clear before moving equipment.
  • Minimize situations where smaller vehicles need to approach large haul trucks (e.g., arrange for haul truck drivers to have supplies available at the pre-shift meeting place, rather than delivering supplies to the truck).
  • Do not drive or park smaller vehicles in a large truck's potential path of movement.
  • Equip smaller vehicles with flags or strobe lights positioned high enough to be seen from the cabs of haulage trucks.
  • Install and maintain proximity detection or collision avoidance/warning systems and cameras.

Additional Information

This is the 11th & 12th fatality reported in calendar year 2017 in metal and nonmetal mining.  As of this date in 2016, there were 15 fatalities reported in metal and nonmetal mining.  This is the 4th and 5th Powered Haulage fatality in 2017. (Note: This is the second accident this year where a smaller vehicle is run over by a haul truck.)   There were three Powered Haulage fatals in the same period in 2016.