Fatality · MSHA Record #219842050168

Beltman fatality at Ovenfork Mine (Blue Diamond Coal Company), KY, July 15, 1984

at 2:00 AM

On July 15, 1984, a beltman was fatally injured in a falling/sliding/rolling materials accident at Ovenfork Mine (Blue Diamond Coal Company), KY.

Ovenfork Mine · Underground · Coal

Operator: Blue Diamond Coal Company

Letcher County, KY

Classification FALLING/SLIDING/ROLLING MATERIALS

Type Struck by falling object

Investigator narrative

I.NAME AND I.NAME WERE TAKING DOWN AN IDLE BELT HEAD DRIVE SYSTEM FOUR RETAINING BOLTS ON THE RIGHT SIDE WERE CUT LEAVING FOUR ON THE LEFT SIDE WHEN THE RIGHT SIDE FAILED TO BREAK LOOSE I.NAM E WENT FOR AN AXE OR OTHER TOOL TO KNOCK THE UNIT LOOSE AS HE DID HE STEPPED UNDER THE WEAKENED UNIT AND THE 4 REMAINING BOLTS SHEARED CAUSING DRIVE ROLLER TO FALL & CRUSH I.NAME RESULTING IN

Record details

Activity at time of incident: Walking, Running
Subunit / location: UNDERGROUND
Underground location: INBY PERMANENT SUPPORT
Mining method: Continuous Mining
Accident type: Struck by falling object
Source of injury: BELT CONVEYORS
Nature of injury: CRUSHING
Body part affected: MULTIPLE PARTS (MORE THAN ONE MAJOR)
Total mining experience: 9 years
Experience at this mine: 9 years
Experience in this job: 3 years
Degree of injury: FATALITY

Related fatalities

Same operator

December 9, 1989 · Maintenance Man · Blue Diamond Coal Company, KY
September 17, 1986 · Beltman · Blue Diamond Coal Company, KY
October 11, 1984 · Assistant Mine Foreman · Blue Diamond Coal Company, KY
September 10, 1984 · Roof Bolter · Blue Diamond Coal Company, KY

Same classification

July 11, 2026 · Outside Foreman · Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company LLC, PA
March 3, 2026 · Cement Worker · North American Silica Sand, LLC, TX
January 19, 2026 · Ledgeman/Hand · Vermont Quarries Corp., VT
May 1, 2025 · Rotary Bucket Excavator Operator · SP Silica of Atascosa, LLC, TX
January 3, 2025 · Utility Man · WES AGG, LLC, TX

Same year

December 27, 1984 · Belt Cleaner · Mosaic Potash Carlsbad Inc, NM
December 27, 1984 · Belt Cleaner · Mosaic Potash Carlsbad Inc, NM
December 21, 1984 · Warehouseman · Everest Minerals Corp, TX
December 21, 1984 · Outside Foreman · Pine Bluff Sand & Gravel Company, AR
December 21, 1984 · Mine Manager · Kenellis Energies Inc, IL

Verify on MSHA

Every record on this page mirrors what MSHA publishes under its Open Government Data program, refreshed weekly. MSHA does not publish per-accident URLs (the Accidents data is distributed as a single bulk file), so this is how to retrieve the source for the specific record below:

Accident record: Download MSHA Accidents.zip then search for Document number 219842050168 (the unique key per MSHA Form 7000-1)
Mine record: MSHA Mine Data Retrieval System and search by Mine ID 1502055
All MSHA datasets: Open Government Data program directory covering Accident, Mines, Inspections, Violations, etc.

Source: US Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) · Document 219842050168 · Mine ID 1502055 Trainer view →