Western Kentucky Mine Accident Kills Two Workers

Two men were killed at a surface mine in western Kentucky following an accident on Friday morning. The workers were reported to be part of a blasting crew and were trapped at the Equality Boot Mine owned by Armstrong Coal, which is located near Centertown, Ky., in Ohio County.

Centertown is located south of Owensboro and Evansville, Ind., and northwest of Bowling Green.

According to The Republic out of Columbus, Ohio, the workers were driving a truck near a highwall around 6:30 a.m. Central time when the wall collapsed, burying the truck. Rescuers finally reached the men around noon but the local coroner said both men were likely killed instantly when the rock fall buried the truck they were in.

A highwall is an exposed coal seam that is left behind from a strip mine or open pit surface mine.

The Equality Boot Mine is a surface mine owned by Armstrong and has been in operation since 2010 and last year the mine sold 0.3 million tons of coal. According to Armstrong's website, the company owns and operates seven coal mines around Centertown in western Kentucky.

The mines owned by Armstrong are the Big Run Mine (an underground mine near Centertown that is scheduled for closure before the end of this year), Midway Mine (surface mine near Centertown), Parkway Mine and Preparation Plant (underground mine near Central City), East Fork Mine (surface mine near Centertown), Lewis Creek (surface mine near Centertown), Kronos (underground mine near Centertown, opened on early October to replace the Big Run Mine).

Armstrong also owns and operates the Armstrong Dock -- a preparation facility that preps coal and loads it onto barges to be moved down the Green River.

Kentucky is no stranger to mining accidents. Most recently, in June, three coal miners were trapped in the Jellico No. 1 underground mine in southeastern Kentucky. The miners were rescued on June 20 after 14 hours. Heavy rain and flooding trapped the miners but they managed to reach a high spot inside the mine to await rescue.

In April, 2010, two coal miners died after a roof collapse at the Dotiki Mine near Providence in western Kentucky.