CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A miner's life was tragically lost when crews found his body early Thursday in a flooded coal mine in southern West Virginia, as confirmed by Governor Patrick Morrisey.
The deceased was located inside Alpha Metallurgical Resources Inc.'s Rolling Thunder Mine, situated roughly 50 miles east of Charleston, the state capital.
On Saturday, a mining crew encountered an unknown pocket of water approximately three-quarters of a mile into the mine, which subsequently flooded after an old mine wall was compromised. Fortunately, more than a dozen other miners were safely accounted for after the accident.
This incident marks the third fatality reported at an Alpha facility in West Virginia this year, with previous incidents occurring in Raleigh County.
Efforts to locate the miner included drilling holes in the mine to expedite the search, while dive teams explored potential sections of water for air pockets. The National Cave Rescue Commission even supplied surplus Army phones for improved underground communication as rescuers worked to ascertain any possible survivors.
Rolling Thunder is one of 11 underground mines operated by Tennessee's Alpha Metallurgical Resources in West Virginia. The company also manages several surface mines across the state and Virginia.
Morrisey indicated that additional mines have operated in the area, including an abandoned mine that was active during the 1930s and 1940s. A report prepared earlier this year stated that the region had been extensively explored by prior operators, leaving behind a substantial amount of data evaluated by Alpha for coal production.
The Rolling Thunder coal seam runs along Twentymile Creek's drainage, where prior assessments concluded there were no significant hydrological risks tied to mining operations.
Historically, West Virginia's coal mining industry has faced tragedies, including a notable incident in 1968 wherein four miners lost their lives after tunneling into an unmapped abandoned mine. In contrast, nine miners were rescued in 2002 from Pennsylvania's flooded Quecreek Mine after being trapped for over three days.
