A Pennsylvania mine worker died last week after being run over by his own bulldozer.
The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) is working with local officials to determine just how the incident occurred. News sourves say 28-year-old Andrew Oxenrider died on the morning of July 27 at the Reading Anthracite property in Schuylkill County coroner.
Oxenrider reportedly fell under the bulldozer’s tracks after falling or getting pulled out of the cab. The machine continued down an embankment before being stopped by an obstruction.
United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) International President Cecil E. Roberts said Oxenrider was a new miner with a new family.
The MSHA is in the midst of an initiative to address the higher-than-average injury and fatality rates among relatively inexperienced miners.
“This is the tenth fatality in the U.S. coal industry this year, two more than in all of last year,” said Roberts. “We ask everyone to keep his family in their prayers as they struggle to cope with this terrible tragedy.”