Roof bolter operator Charles Jason Kenney, 34, had five years of experience, just over two years of it at Long Branch Energy's No. 23 operation in Danville, Boone County, the US Mine Safety and Health Administration confirmed for International Longwall News Tuesday. He was in the middle of working an extra shift when the incident occurred at about 6:45pm local time.
"[He was] shoveling the No. 4 belt conveyor walkway…when struck by a ten-foot long by eight-foot wide and one-foot thick piece of rock weighing approximately four to five tons," the agency noted in a preliminary report.
"The rock had dislodged from the immediate roof approximately two weeks prior to the accident and was resting on its side on loose material in the vertical position, with the bottom touching an installed Heintzmann roof jack.
Kenney, who was working to clean that walkway in the area at the time by crushing large pieces with a sledgehammer, was crushed when the rock fell. Seven other workers were underground at the time, MSHA noted.
The state's Office of Miners' Health, Safety and Training, who also received indication of the accident, also confirmed the accident details to the Associated Press Monday. "This was not a fall – this was a large rock that had dislodged and apparently was standing and somehow got jarred to the point where it moved," said director Ron Wooten.
The underground pillar mine, which extracts from a four-foot, six-inch seam, is still actively producing. Fifty-five work at the No. 23 mine, 49 of which are based underground.
Both state and federal investigations have commenced.
