CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A tragic incident unfolded early Thursday morning when the body of a coal miner was discovered in a flooded mine in southern West Virginia. The Rolling Thunder Mine, operated by Alpha Metallurgical Resources Inc., was the site of the recovery, located near Belva, approximately 50 miles east of Charleston.
This dramatic event was triggered when a mining crew hit an unknown pocket of water last Saturday about three-quarters of a mile into the mine. Following the incident, the mine flooded, attributed to the compromise of an old mine wall, as confirmed by Governor Patrick Morrisey. Thankfully, more than a dozen other miners were accounted for when the accident was reported.
The recent death marks the third fatality at an Alpha facility in West Virginia just this year, with previous incidents involving an elevator accident and a collapsed coal seam in separate instances.
Rescue crews embarked on rigorous efforts, drilling holes in the mine to expedite the search process while dive teams explored potential air pockets in the flooded areas. To enhance underground communication, the National Cave Rescue Commission lent surplus Army phones capable of long-distance transmission.
Notably, the Rolling Thunder Mine is one of eleven underground mines managed by Alpha Metallurgical in West Virginia, along with several surface mines across the state and Virginia.
The incident's context is compounded by a historical precedent; in 1968, an incident in the same county led to the deaths of four miners when their operation accidentally intersected with an unmapped abandoned mine, demonstrating the persistent risks faced by coal miners.
