Preliminary data released by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration indicate that 28 miners died in 2015 in work-related accidents at the nation’s mines, down from 45 in 2014. The figure represents the lowest number of mining deaths ever recorded and the first year that mining deaths dropped below 30.
Eleven of the 28 deaths occurred in coal mines – three in Pennsylvania; two each in Kentucky, Illinois and West Virginia; and one each in Alabama and Virginia. The leading causes were powered haulage and machinery accidents, which accounted for six deaths.