http://www.timesnews.net/article.php?id=9006068


BIG STONE GAP "? The death of a Wise County coal miner on Tuesday marked the first mining fatality in Virginia since October 2004.

David H. Sizemore, 61, of Big Stone Gap was fatally injured in a roof fall accident at the Osaka Mining Corp. No. 1 deep mine, located about four miles northwest of Appalachia. Cumberland Resources is the parent company operated by Richard Gilliam.

Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy spokesman Mike Abbott said Sizemore, a roof bolter operator, was standing next to Marty Musick, age and address unavailable, under supported roof "? deemed a safe area in an underground coal mine. Musick was operating a continuous mining machine by remote control.

About 9 a.m. a chunk of rock fell from the supportive roof, striking both miners. Abbott said Sizemore was flown to Holston Valley Medical Center, where he died of his injuries about 11:15 a.m. Musick was treated and released at Lonesome Pine Hospital in Big Stone Gap.

Sizemore had over 30 years of coal mining experience, Abbott said, including 11 years and two months with Osaka Mining Corp. and two years and three months at that particular mine.

Sizemore's death is not just the first mine fatality in Virginia for 2008, said Abbott, "but is, in fact, the first mining fatality since October 2004."?

Roof falls are the most common cause of injuries and fatalities in underground coal mines, but the last fatal roof fall in Virginia before Tuesday occurred in March 2001.

The DMME and federal Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) are conducting a joint investigation. Abbott said roof control specialists from both agencies are conducting an evaluation of the area Sizemore and Musick were working. As is usual for such incidents, a closure order for that section of the mine is in effect.

Investigators with both agencies will conduct interviews of the 11 other coal miners working the shift with Sizemore and Musick.