The man in charge of mine safety in West Virginia says it appears miners working on the section where a miner died on the job in Marion County Thursday were following safety procedures.

 Thirty-nine year old Jesse Adkins of Belington was killed when a sizable piece of rock dislodged from the mine rib and pinned him against a mining machine.   

State Mine Safety Director Ron Wooten says Adkins was the roof bolter on the machine.  Unlike other mines, the roof bolter and continuous miner at the Loveridge operation are integrated together. 

"They can mine and roof bolt simultaneously, which is a good thing normally because you're able to support the roof more quickly,” Wooten said.

Adkins' crew had just begun to cut an overcast, ramming up the machine to cut higher into the roof than normal.   That caused the machine to have to cut rock, which is significantly harder than coal.

"They had actually just started the cut," said Wooten. "But they were cutting rock and that causes a lot of vibration and a lot of noise.  The feeling is that vibration may have jarred that piece of rock loose from the wall."

The accident happened without warning and from all preliminary indications, the crew was taking every precaution.

"Everything seems to have been fine prior to this particular cut when the accident occurred," Wooten told MetroNews. "The area had been examined at least twice just prior to them starting the cut and no hazards were identified by the foreman or any of the men working on this particular entry."

Wooten notes the machine on which Adkins was working actually had rib guards that were fully extended and in place. The massive rock that crushed him, rolled out of the wall and came down on the victim between the safety shields. 

"There were no witnesses per se," Wooten explained."Other members of his crew say they simply saw his light go down to the floor."

The massive rock was so heavy, two men could not lift it off the victim and jacks had to be put in place to free him from the accident debris.

The accident remains under investigation.  Wooten says it's too early to tell if the mine owner, Consol Energy, will receive any citations or notice of violation from the incident.