Wise County Coal Miner Killed In Roof Fall

I am sorry for not posting anything about this yesterday...I am not one to break stories and I want the families to be informed first.

Virginia suffered its first coal-mining death in more than three years yesterday morning.

David H. Sizemore, 61, of Big Stone Gap died as the result of a roof fall in Osaka Mine Corp.'s Mine No. 1 near Appalachia in Wise County, said Mike Abbott, a spokesman for the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy.

Another miner, Marty Musick, whose age and hometown were not available, was injured in the accident. Musick was treated at a hospital in Big Stone Gap and released, Abbott said.

Sizemore, a roof-bolter with 30 years of mining experience, was standing with Musick, the operator of a continuous mining machine, under a bolted mine roof around 9 a.m. when the roof collapsed, Abbott said. Sizemore was airlifted to a hospital in Kingsport, where he was pronounced dead at 11:15 a.m.

The death was the first mining fatality in Virginia since October 2004, Abbott said. It was the first roof-fall fatality since March 2001.

Sizemore's job was drilling the roof and inserting long steel bolts, which are designed to hold together the layers of rock that make up the roof, like glue binds thin wood strips in a piece of plywood. The bolts give the roof strength and support it, but depending on the geology they can sometimes fail.

Abbott said his state agency and the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration are investigating the accident. LINK

Keep his family in your prayers. We start over today--One day without a fatality is the goal...Then two...

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