Associated Press Published

W.Va. Mine Cited in Week Prior to Fatal Accident 

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Federal regulators issued more than a dozen citations to a West Virginia coal mine in the week prior to an accident that killed one worker and injured two others.

According to the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration’s website, Murray Energy was cited several times for roof plans and protection from roof, face and rib falls.

Murray Energy’s owns McElroy Mine in Marshall County near Cameron where one miner died and three others were reported injured on Sunday.

West Virginia Office of Miner’s Health Health Safety and Training spokesperson Leslie Smithson says 45-year-old Assistant Longwall Coordinator John M. Garloch of Neffs, Ohio was killed.  Initial reports indicate the cause of Sunday night’s accident was a roof and rib fall.

Minority Leader Jeff Kessler addressed the entire Senate at the end of the floor session on Monday.

“It’s a constant reminder of the fact that under even the best of conditions and circumstances that coal mining is a dangerous and difficult job and occupation,” Kessler said. 

It wasn’t immediately known whether the alleged violations were in the area of the mine where the accident occurred.