W.Va. miner killed in underground rail collision
(The Associated Press circulated the following story by Tim Huber on October 20.)
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A coal miner killed at a Consol Energy operation in West Virginia was pinned between an underground locomotive and a rail car, a spokeswoman for the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration said Monday.
The victim was between the locomotive and the car when he was struck by a second locomotive shortly after noon Sunday at Consol's McElroy Mine, MSHA spokeswoman Amy Louviere said in an e-mail.
The victim was identified as Sistersville resident Victor Goudy, 58, said Jama Jarrett, spokeswoman for the state Office of Miners' Health, Safety and Training. Goudy, a locomotive operator, had 33 years of mining experience.
Goudy is the eighth West Virginian and 24th person nationally to die at a U.S. coal mine this year, according to MSHA statistics.
Three representatives of the United Mine Workers were interviewing witnesses along with government inspectors Monday, spokesman Phil Smith said. The union represents miners at McElroy.
"It's still not clear exactly what happened," Smith said. "Our prayers and our hearts are out to the family."
State and federal mine investigators were at the Marshall County mine Monday, according to Jarrett and Louviere.
A spokesman for Canonsburg, Pa.-based Consol did not immediately return phone messages Monday.
The McElroy Mine has a mixed safety record.
While it hasn't had a fatal accident in more than four years, the sprawling underground operation was the scene of two fatal accidents in 2003 and 2004.
In one, a miner was killed when the side of a coal pillar collapsed and pinned him against a piece of heavy equipment in August 2004. In the other, three contract workers were killed and three co-workers were injured in a methane explosion during construction of a ventilation shaft Jan. 22, 2003.
MSHA cited contractor Central Cambria Drilling Co. for high negligence and reckless disregard for safety for the blast. Consol was not blamed.
McElroy has more than 740 underground employees and produces between nine million and 10 million tons of coal annually.
Consol operates 17 mining complexes in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio and Utah.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
