Kentucky mourns second coal miner killed in less than a week

A coal miner working underground in western Kentucky died after being struck by a coal scoop.

It was the second coal mining death in Kentucky in less than a week and the fourth overall in the U.S. this year.

Phillip Ramsey, 58, was working on ventilation curtains at the Cardinal mine near Madisonville Tuesday evening when he was struck by the scoop, according to a release from Kentucky’s Energy and Environment Cabinet. Ramsey was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.

The mine is owned by Warrior Coal, a subsidiary of Alliance Resource Partners.

“This man’s death is especially tragic as this is the second miner that we have lost within a week,” Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said in the release.

Mining operations were suspended while an investigation is conducted.

On Friday, 48-year-old Douglas Slusher died in a surface mining accident in Bell County in eastern Kentucky.

(GRAPHIC: SuperTalk Archives)