It follows a horror year in 2013 when 20 fatalities were recorded in US coal mines.
According to reports in the Charleston Gazette, a West Virginia Office of Miners' Health, Safety and Training spokeswoman said Daniel Lambka, 20, of Kitzmiller, had suffered crushing injuries.
The incident occurred at Mettiki Coal's Mountain View mine near Davis.
A US Mine Safety and Health Administration spokesman reportedly told the Gazette that Lambka was standing between a mine wall and the coal feeder when a security post became dislodged and allowed the feeder to shift, pinning the victim between the rib and the frame of the feeder.
