Company spokeswoman Lynn Seay confirmed that the victim was senior longwall maintenance coordinator Roger King, 62, a 44-year veteran of Consol that had been at McElroy for 17 years.

The miner, who suffered a head injury about 1pm Friday, died from his injuries on the way to hospital.

Consol did not elaborate on the details of the accident and due to the federal government shutdown, a preliminary report was not available. But sources told local news outlets, including the Charleston Gazette, that King received head injuries when a conveyor chain broke during a longwall panel move.

Seay said that McElroy operations were suspended Friday afternoon and were expected to resume at 12.01am October 6.

“[We are] working closely with state and federal mine safety officials to determine the cause of the incident,” she said.

“Safety remains at the core of everything we do. It is our priority to prevent events like this one from ever happening and we continue to strive for zero accidents.”

McElroy, located in Marshall County near Moundsville, ranks as one of the nation’s largest underground coal mines and employs about 1000 workers.

It produced 9.4 million tonnes in 2012, according to federal data.

West Virginia has had six coal deaths this year.