This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
One worker died early Tuesday in a coal mining accident in central Utah.
Gary Broadbent, spokesman for mine operator UtahAmerican Energy Inc., identified the victim as Alejandro Ramirez, 46, of Price. Ramirez worked for the company for six years, Broadbent said.
A Carbon County sheriff's dispatcher said the 911 call reporting the accident arrived at 1:35 a.m. from the West Ridge Mine near the community of East Carbon.
Ramirez was pronounced dead at the scene. No other miners were hurt.
East Carbon Police Chief Sam Leonard said one his officers had been told the victim had been "crushed," either in a cave-in or by machinery operating inside the mine.
Broadbent, spokesman for mine operator UtahAmerican Energy Inc., said a cave-in or rock fall had been ruled out.
"It was an equipment-related accident," he said.
Broadbent could not provide further details about the accident, noting it is being investigated by the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA).
However, Broadbend did say the accident was the first involving serious injury in the company's history at the West Ridge Mine.
On Tuesday, beyond expressing "sincere condolences and prayers to the Ramirez family," the company declined further comment on the incident at this time, though Broadbent did say the mine was closed Tuesday as a result of the accident.
UtahAmerican Energy Inc. is a subsidiary of Murray Energy Corp., one of the largest privately owned coal companies in the United States.
Annually, Murray Energy produces about 65 million tons of bituminous coal from properties in Utah, Illinois, Kentucky, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio.
Another Murray Energy subsidiary operated the Crandall Canyon coal mine, where six miners were buried by a massive implosion of the mine walls on Aug. 6, 2007. Three would-be rescuers were killed and six more were injured when a second implosion occurred 10 days later.
MSHA records show that the West Ridge Mine employed 205 people at mid-year, 173 working underground. Those job numbers are down considerably from 2011, when the mine employed about 300 and its annual production was 3.56 million tons. At the end of June, the mine was on pace to produce just 2.2 million tons of coal this year.
Before Tuesday's fatal accident, the mine had reported only two injuries so far in 2014, giving it an accident incidence rate (1.55) that was half of the national average (3.13).
However, MSHA records reveal that over the past 10 years, the lost-time injury rate at West Ridge exceeded the national average seven times. It far surpassed the national average in each of the last three years, when 54 injuries were reported, according to MSHA.
MSHA's system also showed that an MSHA inspector was in the mine late last week, issuing a citation for a buildup of combustible material. The mine also was recently cited for having a haulage road that was too bumpy or pot-holed for safe travel. Neither citation was deemed "significant and substantial," a higher level of infraction.
MSHA issued West Ridge three S&S citations among 35 violations in its regular safety inspection in the first quarter of 2014, then none among 19 violations in the quarterly inspection that ended June 30, agency records show.
Twitter: @remims