“However, this red flag was ignored, and no additional roof support was installed in the area in question,” Oppegard wrote in his letter.

Stillhouse Mining spokesman Ross Kegan denied the allegation, claiming a miner’s statement was taken out of context. “It’s unclear who knew what and when.”

The lives of Russell Cole, 39, the mine foreman, and Brandon Wilder, 23, were lost after two rock falls occurred during the late evening hours of August 3. Wilder’s body was found about seven hours after the incident, while cadaver dogs were used to find Cole’s body about three days later.

Both were performing the process of retreat mining, where coal pillars holding up roof are removed from exhausted sections of the mine. Kentucky’s governor Ernie Fletcher, after travelling to the area outside Cumberland to meet with the victims’ families, said the state would review methods to improve retreat mining safety.

Additionally, the state plans to hire an independent engineering firm to study retreat mining and its practices.

“We want every miner who begins the shift to end that shift and go home to his or her families,” said Fletcher.

In the last 13 months, 4 miners have been killed performing retreat mining in the state of Kentucky; 118 of the state’s 252 underground coal facilities have retreat mining operations.