42 U.S. Miners Died on the Job in 2013

Forty-two miners in the United States died on the job in 2013, up from 36 the year before.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration released the preliminary data on Monday. It said while the first three quarters of 2013 saw mining deaths occurring at a record-low rate, the fourth quarter saw a significant spike.

Six coal miners and nine metal and nonmetal miners died in accidents during the fourth quarter of last year. That’s from a total of six miners who died in the same period of 2012.

Last year, West Virginia had the most coal mining deaths, six, with Kentucky claiming the most fatal accidents involving metal and non-metal mines, four.