MARCH 9, 2015
CAMERON IN MARSHALL COUNTY, W.VA.
One person was killed and two injured Sunday night in a mine
roof collapse outside of Cameron in Marshall County, W.Va., officials
confirmed.
The owner of a West Virginia coal mine has identified the
worker killed when a mine roof collapsed Sunday night.
In a statement to media outlets, Murray Energy identified
the miner who was killed as John M. "Mike" Garloch of Neffs, Ohio.
The company says Mr. Garloch was a management employee.
Two miners injured in the accident have not been identified.
Tom Hart, emergency management director for Marshall County,
said emergency crews were called around 8:50 p.m. to the scene of a roof
collapse at the Cameron Portal of a Murray Energy coal mine. Crews arrived to
find three injured workers who had been pulled out by other mine workers.
One of the victims eventually died, he said. Another was
flown to Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown, W.Va. The third was taken by
ambulance to Wheeling Hospital. Officials have not yet released the names of
the victims.
While initial reports indicated there were several trapped
miners, all were eventually accounted for. An investigation into the incident
will be conducted by state and federal authorities, along with Murray Energy,
Mr. Hart said.
Murray Energy and its subsidiary companies operate more than
a dozen active coal mines in West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, Utah and Illinois.
Murray Energy released a brief statement saying "an
accident" had occurred at the company's Marshall County mine. The
statement said details about the incident weren't immediately clear.
Two miners were killed in May at a mine near Wharton, W.Va.,
while they were engaged in "retreat mining," a process called one of
the most dangerous forms of coal mining. The West Virginia men -- Eric D.
Legg, 48, of Twilight and Gary P. Hensley, 46, of Chapmanville -- died at Brody
Mine No. 1 in Boone County, about 50 miles south of the state capital of
Charleston. That mine is owned by Patriot Coal Co. in St. Louis.
Source: www.post-gazette.com