One man killed in Pennsylvania coal mine explosion
23 Oct 2006 21:01:26 GMT Source: Reuters
(Adds detail throughout) PHILADELPHIA, Oct 23 (Reuters) - A coal miner died after setting explosive charges in an anthracite mine in northeastern Pennsylvania on Monday, a spokeswoman for the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration said. Dale Reightler, 42, who had 20 years' experience working in coal mines, was killed when the charges were detonated at the R&D Coal Co. at Tremont in Schuylkill County about 80 miles (130 km) north of Philadelphia. Reightler had placed the charges into holes drilled into the coal seam in order to loosen more coal, said Amy Louviere at the federal agency. "One of the charges is probably what killed him," she said. Reightler was one of five miners who were underground at the time of the explosion on Monday morning; the others escaped unhurt. Forty-one people have been killed in U.S. coal mines so far this year, including 12 at the Sago Mine in West Virginia in January. This was the first fatality in a Pennsylvania coal mine in 2006, according to MSHA data. An investigation into the incident by state and federal inspectors is expected to begin on Tuesday. The mine has been shut until further notice.
