Mining Incidents in Illinois

The IE was moving the miner to the face in entry #3 when we found the IE pinned between the miner tail and the solid rib.

The detonator had a dead battery. In order to set off the shot, employee brought up a loader. The loader battery was used to set the shot off. Employee was unable to be inside the shelter provided for blasting.

The fatally injured miner and co-workers were in the process of building cribs during recovery of a longwall shield when unconsolidated rocks fell through the roof mesh and struck the miner.

Victim was clearing brush with the excavator near pond and the bank appears to have given away causing the excavator to fall into the water and become totally submerged. It is not known if victim drowned or was fatally injured in the accident. We are uncertain of the exact time of the accident. The accident occurred between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.

Employee was removing an electrical motor using a chain hoist suspended from a cross brace when the cross brace became unsecured and struck the employee.

A miner was fatally injured when they were pinned between an air-lock equipment door and a concrete rib barrier located near the shaft bottom.

The pile gave away.

Oil leak was noticed during operation of the end loader. Foreman instructed operator to block the machine & went to get oil. Returned & found EE under the machine looking for the leak. Loader had been raised by tilting the bucket on the ground. Foreman got under machine to help look. Machine came down on top of them shortly after that, just as foreman saw that it was not blocked.

Employee was transporting material down slope A. Slope A belt shut off on a fault. Upon investigation of cause of fault, employee was discovered at the bottom of slope A.

Was putting screw jacks in to hold a pony boom up, supports dislodged and the pony boom came down hitting shoulders knocking EE to the ground. *On October 1, 2015, the injured miner died. On October 13, 2016, MSHA's Fatality Review Committee determined the death to be mining related and chargeable to the mining industry.

Employee was operating a diesel personnel carrier on the Main South Travelway. It appears that his vehicle struck a coal pillar at xcut #193 and he was ejected from the vehicle. He sustained fatal crushing injuries to his chest area.

An employee on the ground level retrieved the tool and climbed 1 to 2 rungs of the ladder to hand the tool to the employee above. The employee appeared to lose consciousness and fell. The witnesses indicated that it appeared the victim was breathing. At 12:01pm, US Silica was informed that the victim had a heart attack and while at the hospital the employee died.

The victim and another miner were tramming the roof bolter outby down the No.3 entry of tailgate No.1 when the accident occurred. The victim was injured when he was struck by the roof bolter as he placed himself between the coal rib and the roof bolter.

Employee was shoveling coal into the Longwall pan line. A piece of coal fell from the face striking the employee. Employee was standing under shield #123 on the Longwall face at the time of the accident.

The victim was operating a battery-powered, rubber tired, personnel carrier on the 2nd 48 supply road. As he traveled outby, for a presently undetermined reason, the golf cart veered suddenly to the left before overturning on top of him. Co-workers initiated CPR and continued to the surface. Attempts to revive him were unsuccessful and he was pronounced dead at 1:59pm.

Employee was fatally injured when he was struck by a battery powered coal hauler in Unit 2.It is believed that the employee walked through the last open crosscut to #4 entry and sat down near the inby corner of #4 entry to eat his lunch. A coal hauler rounded the corner and pinned the employee to the rib.

At approximately 8:35pm the miner operator was fatally injured when he caught himself between the tail of the miner and the coal rib.

The EE was operating the C.M., he was making the first cut in the C.C. left from No. 4 to No. 5 entry. After making the initial cut,EE backed the C.M. into C.C. between No. 4 and 3 entries to set the machine to slab the right side of the cut. As he backed the machine into the C.C., he was pinned between the outby rib of the C.C. and the left side of the cutter head. (See attached)

A Supervisor was found lying in an active roadway intersection with fatal injuries that would appear to have been caused by a coal hauler running over his body. There were no eyewitnesses. The investigation is ongoing.

Employee was struck when a stair stringer, secure in 4 locations, inadvertently released, striking employee in the chest area, thereby forcing him into a Genie manlift located approximately 8-10 feet from the point of contact with the stair stringer.