Two Miners in Deadly Accident Identified

One of the two coal miners involved in Monday's fatal accident at a Wyoming County mine was a member of the United Mine Workers.

Brett Gibson, 31, of Oceana, died Monday at Bluestone Industries' Double Bonus No. 65 Mine near Pineville, UMW President Cecil Roberts told The Associated Press Tuesday. Gibson was a member of Local 6196.

"We are truly saddened that this death has been added to the already terrible toll in our nation's coal mines this year, and we will continue in our fight to make America's coal mines as safe as they must be," Roberts said.

UMW spokesman Phil Smith said Gibson was single and had no children.

The other miner, Dave Lane, 31, of Mullens, was seriously injured in the accident, according to the AP report.

According to the UMW, Lane was not a union member and may be some type of supervisor at the mine.

Though the accident remains under investigation, it appears that Lane and Gibson were preparing to work on a shuttle car on a slope when the vehicle moved, according to state mine safety officials.

Gibson, the shuttle car operator, was crushed between the shuttle and the mine wall.

Lane, a mechanic who was working on the shuttle, suffered shoulder and chest injuries, including suspected broken ribs. Lane remained at Charleston Area Medical Center on Tuesday, where a hospital official said he was in critical condition.

Beckley-based Bluestone Industries refused to release the names of the miners Tuesday, saying not all family members of the miners had been notified.

"The families deserve to be notified first," said Tom Lusk, an official with Bluestone Industries.

Lusk said it was regrettable that some information reported in the media regarding the accident had been speculative.

"The investigation is ongoing and someone couldn't possibly have all the facts at this point," Lusk said.

Lusk says the company is fully cooperating with federal and state investigators.

"As pertinent information becomes available, it will be released by the appropriate agencies," he said.

Lusk confirmed the shuttle car operator had reported directional control problems with the equipment. A shuttle car is used to haul coal from a mining machine to a railway or conveyor belt.

"When the repairs started, the shuttle car moved and struck the miners," he said.

Lusk said the Double Bonus No. 65 Mine opened in 2004.

The operation mined approximately 200,000 tons of coal last year with 71 workers, according to U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration records.

The mine has been cited for 31 violations this year, according to MSHA. State inspectors said they have cited the company for 152 violations.

"This is not abnormal," Lusk said. "This mine has earned many safety awards and is considered a model mine in terms of safety and performance."

The death brings the number of mine-related deaths so far this year in West Virginia to 22 out of 43 total nationwide, including 12 killed in the Sago Mine accident Jan. 2, according to federal statistics. This has been the deadliest year in the nation's mines since 1995, when 47 miners died, according to MSHA.

The state count is the most in any single year since 1981, when the state agency counted 28 coal mining-related deaths.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.