Leslie Co. miner dies in rock fall

A coal miner died Friday when he was hit by flying debris when a pillar of coal and rock gave way at a Bledsoe Coal Co. mine in Leslie County, state officials said.

Travis Glenn Brock, 29, of Helton, who was operating a continuous miner, died in the rock fall at the Abner Branch Mine, said Deputy Coroner Jimmy Darrell Couch.

Officials from the Kentucky Office of Mine Safety and Licensing are investigating the accident, which is called a "rib roll," according to a press release from the state Energy and Environment Cabinet. Brock was the first Kentucky coal mine death of 2010, officials said.

Funeral arrangements were pending at the Walker Funeral Home in Hyden, Couch said.

This story was originally published January 22, 2010 at 4:21 PM with the headline "Leslie Co. miner dies in rock fall."