Mine Safety and Health Administration Coal Mine Safety and Health Report of Investigation: Underground Mine Double Fatality Fall of Roof Accident April 28, 2010, Dotiki Mine Webster County Coal, LLC Nebo Hopkins County, Kentucky ID No. 15-02132

摘要

On Wednesday, April 28, 2010, at approximately 3:00 p.m., prior to entering the mine, the second shift crew for the No. 6 Working Section met with the rest of the second shift miners in a group safety meeting held by mine management. After the meeting, the second shift crew entered the mine and traveled to the section located in the 2nd Southeast Panel to relieve the day shift crew. Brian Perdue, Section Foreman, held another safety meeting with the crew at the dinner shack prior to the miners starting production. Production began at approximately 3:45 p.m. Travis and Carter assumed their normal duties of operating the right side continuous mining machine in entries 0 through 3 Left Crosscut. This is a split air working section with a mechanized mining unit set up on both the left side and right side of the working section. Each side has one continuous mining machine, one roof bolting machine and two shuttle cars. Travis and Carter had cut 1 Left Crosscut when the 36 B Belt pulled apart, interrupting production at approximately 4:29 p.m. Personnel from the section, including Carter, were sent to help with the belt repair. After the belt was repaired, production resumed at approximately 6:22 p.m. Travis and Carter mined a 20 foot cut in the No. 0 Entry, opened 3 Left Crosscut and mined the face of No. 3 Entry approximately 38 feet in depth. Travis and Carter were in the process of moving to the next proposed cut in No. 2 Left Crosscut when draw rock (approximately 6 to 12 inches thick) fell in the unbolted face of the No. 3 Entry. The fall was reported by Jeremy Teague and James Gibson, Shuttle Car Operators on the right side. Travis informed both Teague and Gibson that he was going to clean up the rock to help the roof bolting machine operators. Travis and Carter cleaned up the right side of the No. 3 Entry and had set up to complete loading rock on the left side when the accident occurred at approximately 10:00 p.m. Meanwhile, Gibson left the feeder and stopped two crosscuts outby the face in No. 3 Entry to allow Teague to enter the entry with his shuttle car from the crosscut between the No. 2 and No. 3 Entries. Gibson stated that he was looking at the face when he saw the methane monitor on the mining machine and the two cap lights of the miner operator and helper go black. Teague proceeded into the No. 3 Entry, where he encountered dust from an apparent roof fall. He got out of his shuttle car and observed the roof fall on the continuous mining machine cable. Teague ran to the No. 3 Left Crosscut, in hope that Travis and Carter had escaped to safety. After not seeing Travis or Carter, Teague called for Perdue to come to the No. 3 Entry. Gibson observed Teague running and calling for Perdue over the radio. Gibson, along with R.J. Oliver and Quentin White, the Right Side Roof Bolting Machine Operators, ran toward the face of the No. 3 Entry, where they observed Teague pulling rock from the fall by hand.