Pennsylvania Probe Finds Killed Miner Working in Unprotected Area

A coal miner killed last month by falling debris at an eastern Pennsylvania anthracite mine was working in an unprotected area, an investigation by state and federal mine-safety officials revealed.

Investigators could not immediately say why Robert Carey, an assistant foreman from Shamokin with nine years of experience, was in a section of the mine that lacked ceiling supports.

Carey, 45, was killed June 16 by falling rocks or coal inside the Harmony Mine near Mount Carmel.

Tom Rathbun, of the state Department of Environmental Protection, said a joint investigation by the agency’s Bureau of Mine Safety and the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration found that roof supports were in place as required in other parts of the mine.

Officials gave the mine’s owner, Mount Carmel-based UAE Coal Corp. Associates, permission to resume normal production, Rathbun said.

Carey’s death was the third fatal mining accident in Pennsylvania this year.