Published: June 10, 2016 |

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American Coal Co. officials have identified the man killed in an accident at New Era Mine Monday afternoon.

He was identified as Robbie E. Clark, a 34-year-old from Eldorado. Clark was a contractor with David Stanley Consultants, LLC, a statement from American Coal said.

Clark became pinned beneath a piece of equipment on which he was working, according to the statement.

He and another person were working with a diesel scoop around 2 p.m. Monday, when they lowered the bucket and put downward hydraulic pressure on the bucket to raise the middle of the scoop up, according to a preliminary report released by Amy Louviere with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration.

“Both men crawled under the scoop to look at something,” according to the report. “The hydraulic pressure slowly released, allowing the scoop to lower onto and trap the two men under it.”

“An examiner heard them yelling and came to the scoop and saw them under it. He put downward hydraulic pressure on it again by lowering the bucket. He got the survivor out and then they got the victim out. CPR was started but the victim could not be revived.”

The site is currently under control of MSHA, whose representatives are conducting an investigation, Louviere said. The investigation could take anywhere from a few weeks to several months to complete, she said; that would result in a final report, which could include any enforcement action to be taken against the mine operator.

According to a preliminary review of MSHA records, there have been no fatalities at that mine since at least 2005, she said.

American Coal Co. expressed its condolences to Clark’s family:

“Our employees and management are deeply saddened by this tragic event. During this every difficult time, we send our sincerest condolences and prayers to the Clark family and to all those affected by this loss.”

The matter is under investigation.

The Southern Illinoisan looked at deaths in area coal mines in 2015, discovering that the state as a whole accounted for about 7.5 percent of the mine deaths in this country.

On May 31, 2015, a mine examiner — 59-year-old Glen A. Campbell — died in the Gateway Mine in Coulterville. That mine is operated by Peabody Midwest Mining, LLC.

On Dec. 8, newlywed Tyler Rath of Marion, a 20-year-old Long Wall tractor operator, was killed in an accident at the M-Class Coal Mine near Macedonia in Franklin County.

Source: (June 7, 2016) The Southern Illinoisan

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