CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A tragic incident in West Virginia has resulted in the death of a coal miner, whose body was recovered early Thursday from a flooded mine operated by Alpha Metallurgical Resources Inc. The incident occurred at Rolling Thunder Mine, located near Belva, approximately 50 miles east of Charleston.
The flooding was triggered last Saturday when a mining crew hit an unknown pocket of water about three-quarters of a mile into the mine, which subsequently became inundated as a wall from an old mine was compromised. Fortunately, more than a dozen other miners were accounted for the day the accident was reported.
This tragic event marks the third fatality at an Alpha facility this year. Previous incidents included a miner fatality caused by an elevator malfunction in August and a contractor killed by a falling coal seam in February, as documented by the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration.
In reaction to the flooding, crews began drilling holes to expedite the search process, while dive teams took measures to explore potential areas where air pockets may exist within the water. Enhanced communication techniques were employed with the assistance of the National Cave Rescue Commission, which provided surplus Army phones to facilitate better communication underground.
Rolling Thunder Mine is one of the eleven underground mines operated by Alpha Metallurgical in West Virginia, along with additional operations in Virginia. The company has faced scrutiny following the recurrence of such safety issues, with historical incidents from the area contributing to concerns regarding mining operations.
The incident notably brings to mind a tragic event from 1968 involving Gauley Coal and Coke, where flooding led to the deaths of four miners after unearthing an unmapped abandoned mine. Meanwhile, in 2002, nine miners were rescued after being trapped for over three days in a flooded mine in Pennsylvania.
