Searchers trying to reach coal miner after accident deep inside Kentucky mine
Searchers were trying early Monday to reach a miner missing deep inside a Kentucky coal mine.
James D. Brown, 33, of Lynch was working at the D-29 Darby Fork mine in Harlan County when the roof collapsed late Sunday, according to a release from the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet.
Brown was eventually found dead late Monday, according to multiple reports.
Brown, who operated a machine to install bolts in the roof of the mine to stabilize it, was about 14,000 feet underground when the accident happened. That is more than two and a half miles.
The state Division of Mine Safety sent investigators to the mine early Monday.
Gov. Andy Beshear said he and his wife Britainy were praying for Brown and his family and hoping for his safe recovery.
“The Kentuckians who go into mines daily to provide the coal that helps power this country face particular dangers and deserve our gratitude,” Beshear said.
The mine is owned by Inmet Mining LLC, of Knoxville. The Tennessee company bought a number of Eastern Kentucky mines that had been operated by a company called Blackjewel before it went bankrupt in the summer of 2019.
Kentucky had one coal-mining fatality in 2021 and has had one so far in 2022. In January, a Virginia man was killed and another injured when a tree fell on their pickup truck at a surface mine in Bell County.
This story was originally published March 21, 2022 at 11:13 AM.
