Miner dies after roof collapse at North Yorkshire colliery

One man rescued by ambulance service but another killed at Kellingley colliery A miner has died after a roof collapsed in one of Britain’s deepest remaining mines. Emergency services were called to Kellingley colliery, in Knottingley, North Yorkshire at around 5pm after the incident in the 800 metre deep pit. Two men were trapped and, following a rescue operation, UK Coal said that one of the men died and the other was receiving treatment after he was trapped by the leg. An emergency call was made shortly before 5pm after the two men reportedly became trapped up to their waist by debris. A specialist hazardous area response team from the Yorkshire ambulance service, whose members are trained to work underground, played a key role in the operation. The team was joined by fire crews and doctors. Gareth Williams, managing director for coal mining for UK Coal, said: “UK Coal can confirm a fall of roof occurred at 4.35pm which trapped two of our colleagues. “Colleagues successfully recovered one of the two employees trapped by the lower leg. He is now on the surface. “UK Coal regrets to confirm the second colleague was confirmed dead by our own team, despite our best efforts.” Williams said the company’s thoughts were with the families of the miners. The fatality comes after four men died in a flooded south Wales colliery earlier this month in the UK’s worst mining disaster for 30 years. Kellingley colliery has been the site of a number serious accidents in the past, some fatal. Ian Cameron died at the colliery after an equipment failure in October 2009 while Don Cook died in a rock fall in September 2008, At the time, UK Coal received summonses from the Health and Safety Executive relating to four deaths in separate incidents at its collieries. UK Coal evacuated 218 workers last year after methane gas seeped into the area and ignited. The colliery supplies local power stations and produces some household coal. UK Coal Mining Ben Quinn guardian.co.uk

Posted by on September 27, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.