West Virginia Completes Investigations of 2 Mining deaths

State investigators have completed investigations of two fatal coal mining accidents in West Virginia.

The state Board of Coal Mine Health and Safety is scheduled to be briefed July 15 on the electrocution of a miner at Massey Energy’s Aracoma Alma No. 1 Mine and the death of a contractor working at International Coal Group’s Sentinel Mine. Both accidents occurred in May.

Investigators have said they believe 24-year-old Nathan Dove cut a live electric cable while repairing a shuttle car at Aracoma. The Logan County mine was the scene of a conveyer-belt fire that killed two miners in January 2006.

The other accident involved 18-year-old Adam Lanham. He was run over by a piece of heavy equipment at the Sentinel mine in Barbour County.