“The employees were in the vicinity of an out of service lignite storage silo where they unexpectedly came in contact with hot debris,” mine owner Luminant Energy said.
“The workers sustained burns primarily to their hands and legs.”
Hopkins County Fire Department chief Kevin Yates told Associated Press that hot ash and burning embers fell on the workers.
Luminant didn’t reveal anything on the possible cause but reported the incident to the Mine Safety and Health Administration, which was investigating.
“There has been no active mining at Thermo Mine for months,” the company said.
“Luminant plans to resume mining at Thermo in the fall and so some activities related to preparing the site to restart active mining have been taking place.”
In its announcement on Thursday, the company said one of the workers was treated and released from a local hospital while the other five were transferred to a Dallas hospital.
Flaws in stockpiling coal, or in stockpile design, have been linked to the spontaneous combustion of coal as it oxidises at some Australian sites over recent years.
