Coal Miner Electrocuted at Virginia Mine

A coal mine maintenance supervisor was electrocuted last month at Buchanan Mine near Oakwood, Virginia. Michael Junior Justice was working with a maintenance team on a roof bolt machine. Justice was electrically troubleshooting the machine at the time of the accident, according to a report from the Associated Press.

A roof bolt is used to stabilize the rock roof of a mine tunnel and without it, the ceiling could collapse. A roof bolt machine drills the bolts into the rock. Justice was working with two others, an electrician and a roof bolter. A mining crew was also nearby. No others are believed to have been injured, according to the Bristol Herald Courier.