Driller Operator fatality at Immel Mine (Asarco Inc), TN, October 24, 1988

at 1:00 PM

On October 24, 1988, a driller operator was fatally injured in a fall of roof or back accident at Immel Mine (Asarco Inc), TN.

Immel Mine · Underground · Metal/Non-Metal

Operator: Asarco Inc

Knox County, TN

Classification FALL OF ROOF OR BACK

Type Struck by falling object

Investigator narrative

VICTIM WAS OPERATING A DRILL RIG FOR REASONS UNKNOWN HE GOT OFF THE RIG AND APPARENTLY WAS STANDING BACK NEAR THE RT REAR SIDE APPROX 25 TONS OF ROCK FELL FROM THE BACK DIRECTLY ON HIM

Record details

Activity at time of incident: Idle
Subunit / location: UNDERGROUND
Underground location: FACE
Mining method: Conventional Stoping
Accident type: Struck by falling object
Source of injury: CAVING ROCK,COAL,ORE,WSTE
Nature of injury: MULTIPLE INJURIES
Body part affected: MULTIPLE PARTS (MORE THAN ONE MAJOR)
Total mining experience: 26 years
Experience at this mine: 18 years
Experience in this job: 5 years
Degree of injury: FATALITY

Related fatalities

Same operator

April 10, 1997 · Master Electrician · Asarco Inc, AZ
April 3, 1996 · Scoop Car/Scooptram Operator · Asarco Inc, TN
November 17, 1992 · Maintenance Man · Asarco Inc, MO
July 11, 1992 · Ledgeman/Hand · Asarco Inc, MT
March 23, 1992 · Laborer · Asarco Inc, AZ

Same classification

April 2, 2026 · Shuttle Car Operator · Marfork Coal Company, WV
September 2, 2025 · Blaster · Heidelberg Materials Northeast LLC, PA
July 12, 2025 · Scoop Tram Operator · Nyrstar Tennessee Mines, Strawberry Plains LLC, TN
September 25, 2024 · Continuous Miner Operator · Crimson Oak Grove Resources LLC, AL
September 6, 2024 · Continuous Miner Operator · Mingo Logan Coal LLC, WV

Same year

December 29, 1988 · Haul/Off Road/Coal/Ore/Pit/Quarry/Rock/Rubber Tire Truck Driver · Lanham Coal Company Inc, KY
December 22, 1988 · Mine Manager · United States Steel Corp-Minnesota Ore Operations, MN
December 14, 1988 · Shuttle Car Operator · Webster County Coal Corp, KY
December 13, 1988 · Laborer · Sextet Mining Corp, KY
December 12, 1988 · Laborer · Pontiki Coal Corp, KY

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 219883070001 (the unique key per MSHA Form 7000-1)
Mine record: MSHA Mine Data Retrieval System and search by Mine ID 4000170
All MSHA datasets: Open Government Data program directory covering Accident, Mines, Inspections, Violations, etc.

Source: US Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) · Document 219883070001 · Mine ID 4000170 Trainer view →