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Surface coal mine accidents in Ohio, Virginia claim two

 

Galax, Virginia (Platts)--7Dec2011/529 pm EST/2229 GMT


Deadly accidents at US surface coal mines in Ohio and Virginia have claimed two workers in the past two days. 

Wednesday morning, a miner working in an excavator died when a highwall nearby collapsed at Fairbanks Coal's Fairbanks No. 4 surface mine in Wise County, Virginia, according to a US Mine Safety and Health Administration spokeswoman. 

"The mine operator reached the victim and reported he had no pulse," MSHA spokeswoman Amy Louviere said Wednesday. "The area around the highwall was wet and unstable, attributed to heavy rains in the area." 

An MSHA inspector is on site and an accident investigation team has been assembled, Louviere said. "The victim's body wasn't extracted until 11:30 [a.m. EST Wednesday]." She added that she didn't know when production will restart.

Mike Abbott, a spokesman with the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy, confirmed Wednesday afternoon that MSHA issued a closure order for the entire mine site.

He identified the victim as Richard N. Yonts, 49, of Jenkins, Kentucky.

"The victim's body was not immediately removed because of the highwall instability near his excavator," Louviere said, adding that MSHA personnel oversaw the recovery of the victim. 

Representatives of Fairbanks Coal couldn't immediately be reached for comment Wednesday. 

The No. 4 mine, with Wesley Burke listed as controller, produced 164,428 short tons during the first three quarters of this year and 202,788 st in 2010, according to MSHA. 

The fatality is the first death in 2011 for Virginia that MSHA counts as chargeable to the coal mining industry. MSHA determined a June fatality at a Wise County, Virginia, surface mine was not chargeable to the coal industry because the death was determined to be from natural causes. 



 
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08/05/22 03:33 PM #1    

Thurman Blizzard (1960)

Obituray information from The Mountain Eagle, December 14, 2011.

Richard "Neal" Yonts, 49, graduated from JHS in 1980, and attended the University of Kentucky.  He was atheletic and played several sports, though football was his favorite.  Like his father before him, Richard became a coal miner.  On Dec 7, 2011, he was killed in surface mining accident in Stonega, Virginia, while working for Fairbanks Coal Company #4, operating an excavator,when a high wall collapsed on the machine, trapping him inside.  He is survived by his parents, Shanna Preston Yonts and Richard Neal Yonts of McRoberts, Ky.a son, Craig Yonts of Jenkins and a daughter, Amanda Yonts, of Jenkins, two grandaughters, Calvin and Gavin Collins,  both of Jenkins, and by his maternal grandparents, Millard and Carol Preston, and his paternal grandparents, Warren  and Pauline Yonts.   On Decembe 10, funeral services were held at Polly and Craft  Funeral Home in Jenkins.  He was buried in Baker Cemetery at Payne Gap, Kentucky. 


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