Jan. 15, 2007
 
Two Dead Miners Identified in McDowell County Coal Mine Collapse
 
By BNN Staff
 
According to WVNS Fox News Channel 59, the two men killed in the Cucumber, WV coal mine roof collapse have been identifed as James D. Thomas, 48, North Tazewell, Va. and Pete Poindexter, 33, of Rock WV.
 
The station reported on the 10 p.m. news Sunday, Jan. 14, 2007, that an official of the West Virginia Office of Mine Safety and Training said two men died early Saturday, Jan. 13, 2007 when a roof collapsed at the Brooks Run mine in McDowell County.
 
The accident occurred about 10:30 a.m. about a mile and a half underground.
 
Officials have not said what caused the roof to collapse.
 
Officials said the men were removing coal pillar roof supports. Thirty-five miners were underground when the roof fell. Family and friends say officials did a good job communicating the right information.
 
State and federal investigators are both looking into the incident.
 
Brooks Run Mining LLC operates three underground mines in McDowell County. War Branch No. 1 Mine and the Cucumber Mine, which are both active, and the Raw Coal Mine No. 1, which was temporarily idled.
 
The two active mines have gone through recent inspections, according to WVNS reports.
 
The Cucumber mine had two spot inspections in December, one Dec. 19 and the other Dec. 26. No violations were cited during either inspections, according to the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration Web site.
 
But during spot inspections Dec. 5-6 and in November, five citations were issued, the Web site said. During regular health and safety inspections over the course of 2006, 57 citations were issued.
 
The Cucumber mine had nine reportable injuries in 2006, but a roof bolter whose hand was crushed was the only significant injury, the MSHA Web site said. In a separate incident in October, a roof bolter was injured when a piece of rock fell on him.
 
The War mine was last inspected Dec. 19. During that regular inspection, the mine was issued three citations. Over the course of 2006, the mine had regular inspections five times and a total of 28 citations were issued. The mine was also inspected in April for a non-injury accident. That inspection resulted in no citations, but one order.
 
The mine had seven reportable injuries in 2006, including a roof bolter who was injured in December when he was caught between the deck of the bolting machine and the mine rib. The accident in April that lead to the inspection was related to a roof fall. During that fall, a slab of rock approximately 25-feet long, 18-feet wide and 4-feet thick fell in an area that had been previously cribbed off.