The U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration has cited the owners of an eastern Kentucky surface mine where a worker was killed by a falling tree, according to a published report.
Nally & Hamilton Enterprises was cited for not following a plan that required removing trees on top of the mine’s high wall and for failing to identify, report and correct a hazardous situation, the federal agency said, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader.
A tree fell from the high wall above the roadway at the Bell County mine in January and struck a vehicle with two workers as it passed. One worker died and another was seriously injured.
The federal agency said Nally & Hamilton did not make sure that trees were cleared a safe distance from the edge of the top of the high wall. In addition, inspections for possible hazardous conditions at the mine were inadequate and contributed to the accident, the mine safety agency concluded.
Weather conditions also likely played a role, with heavy precipitation and cycles of freezing and thawing that caused conditions that loosened support for the tree, the report said.
The Associated Press
