CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia officials on Friday were investigating the death of a coal miner at a Kanawha County mine.
Blackhawk Mining issued a statement Thursday reporting a fatality at the Coalburg Tunnel underground mine. The West Virginia Office of Miners’ Health and Safety identified the miner as 34-year-old Kristofer L. Ball, from Harts, West Virginia. The agency is investigating. It had released no information about what occurred as of Friday afternoon.
U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat, issued a statement Friday saying he was “deeply saddened” by Ball’s death.
“We ask all West Virginians to join us in keeping his wife Chelsea and their three children in our prayers during this devastating time,” Manchin said. “Every West Virginian and American is forever grateful for our brave miners who put their lives at risk every day to power our great nation.”
It marked the fourth fatal coal mining accident in West Virginia this year and the ninth nationwide, according to the Mine Safety and Health Administration.
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This story has been corrected to show the name of Kristofer Ball’s hometown is Harts.
