US Mine Safety and Health Administration spokesperson Amy Louviere confirmed to ILN that 58-year-old Wilson Rome Meade, a mining veteran of 40 years, was killed in a powered haulage accident on Tuesday evening local time at the D&C mine in Harlan County, Kentucky.

At approximately 7.15pm, the scoop operator was placing a trailer of concrete block at the mine’s number 35 crosscut on the 4 South main between the number 2 and 3 entries in preparation for stopping construction, according to a preliminary report by investigators.

“The chain connecting the trailer of the block to the scoop became unattached and the trailer rolled down grade from 2 entry to 3 entry, pinning the victim against the outby bridge conveyor,” MSHA added.

After receiving treatment from the operation’s mine emergency technicians and being transported to the surface via a rubber-tired mantrip, Meade was taken to a local medical center where he was pronounced dead at 8.15pm.

MSHA confirmed that Meade, a section foreman for 30 years, had worked at the mine for five years. The operation’s total payroll is 19 with 17 miners working underground.

No other injuries were reported in the incident, which has been officially classified by the agency under Powered Haulage.

The D&C mine is owned by Harrison Hill and extracts bituminous product under a seam height of 54 inches.

According to MSHA statistics, the operation produced just over 232,796 tons of coal in 2008 within 47,291 recorded man hours, and just under 70,000t in the year to date.

It had not had any fatal operator injuries since 1995, and its last non-fatal days lost (NFDL) injury was marked in 2005.

Meade’s death was the first underground fatality in a coal mine since October 19, 2008 – a record 233 days between incidents. The previous record of 135 days was marked in 2006.