FRANKFORT – A machinery maintenance accident on a surface mine site has claimed the life of a Perry County miner. The Kentucky Office of Mine Safety and Licensing (OMSL) has identified the victim as 52 year-old Jerry A. Watts of Slemp, Ky. The accident was reported at 11:15 a.m. Saturday at the Begley #1 mine at Short Creek in Leslie County. The mine is owned by T & T Energy, LLC.
Preliminary information from OMSL indicates Watts was doing welding work on a liner of a dozer blade when a jack slipped allowing the liner to strike Watts in the head. He was pronounced dead by Leslie County Coroner Greg Walker.
Monday, OMSL investigators will interview other employees who were present when the accident occurred. This is the first mining-related accident in Kentucky in 2013.
Post a Comment
