Mining Incidents

Will Branch: 4 reportable incidents Coal

Mor-Coal Inc · Surface
Controlled by Hughes Group Inc
Gunlock, Magoffin County, KY  ·  Abandoned
MSHA Mine ID: 1516044

MSHA record for Will Branch (mine ID 1516044). Fatalities, non-fatal incidents grouped by year, current operator and controller, and mine context.

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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
4
Years on record
1987–1988
Latest incident
Jul 1988
Ownership history
  1. Mor-Coal Inc 1987 to present
Source: MSHA controller and operator history, updated weekly.

Will Branch sits in Magoffin County, Kentucky, where the Census mining category is 2.7% of county employment.

Local economic context
County figures come from the US Census Bureau's American Community Survey, 5-year pooled estimates, so the 2023 vintage covers 2019 through 2023. The Census category is 'mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction', which is broader than MSHA jurisdiction and includes oil and gas workers no mine employs. These figures describe the surrounding county, not this mine, and are not a factor in any specific incident.
Magoffin County, Kentucky · Population 11,495
2.7%
Mining share of county employment
$33,632
Median household income
Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2023 5-year estimates.
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

4 on file

1988 · 3 incidents

July 11, 1988 KY · Coal haul/off road/coal/ore/pit/quarry/rock/rubber tire truck driver, transportation truck driver SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON
Mor-Coal Inc · Over-exertion (Not Elsewhere Classified)

EMPLOYEE WAS GETTING OFF HIS ROCK TRUCK HIS FOOT SLIPPED ON THE CATWALK AND HE CAUGHT HIMSELF HURTING HIS BACK

July 7, 1988 KY · Coal bulldozer operator, universal operator, heavy equipment operator, operating engineer POWERED HAULAGE
Mor-Coal Inc · Fall from machine

EMPLOYEE WAS OPERATING A TEREX END DUMP WHEN ENGINE STALLED EMPLOYEE PANICKED WHEN ENGINE STALLED & JUMPED FROM TRUCK TO THE GROUND TRUCK ROLLED FOR APPROX.50FT.FROM POINT OF ACCIDENT THEN CAM E TO A COMPLETE STOP ON ITS OWN

January 4, 1988 KY · Coal maintenance man, mechanic, repair/serviceman, boilermaker, fueler, tire tech, field service tech EXPLODING VESSELS UNDER PRESSURE
Mor-Coal Inc · Absorption of radiations, caustics, toxic and noxious substances

EMPLOYEE WAS WORKING ON A BLOWN HYDRAULIC HOSE ON A POWDER TRUCK. HE PUT HIS HAND ON THE HOLE AND HYDRAULIC OIL WAS INJECTED UNDER THE SKIN OF HIS ARM.

1987 · 1 incident

September 16, 1987 KY · Coal bulldozer operator, universal operator, heavy equipment operator, operating engineer MACHINERY
Mor-Coal Inc · Fall from machine

EMPL OPERATING DOZER.TREE FELL ACROSS HOOD OF DOZER.EMPL CLIMBED ON HOOD WITH CHAIN SAW TO CUT TREE IN HALF.WHEN TREE WAS CUT,TREE KICKED UP.EMPL WAS STARTLED AND STEPPED BACK FALLING TO GROUN D AND BROKE RIGHT FOOT.