Fourteen miners died in the first quarter of 2023, according to information available on the Mine Safety & Health Administration’s (MSHA) website.
Five miners died in accidents in March alone, MSHA reports.
The trend is a troubling one for the mining industry, as 12 miners died in the first quarter of 2022. The rate of fatal accidents slowed in the second quarter last year, but it picked up again at midyear and surged this January, when six fatal accidents occurred.
MSHA reported three more fatalities in February, and the five in March elevated the 2023 total to 14. The agency gives no indication on its website that any fatal accidents occurred in the first days of April.
The agency attributed two of the five fatalities in March to machinery and two more to powered haulage. A fifth fatal accident was attributed to the fall of a roof or back.
Additionally, MSHA information shows that three of the five fatal accidents in March happened at surface operations. Two of those sites mine limestone, and the other mines lime.
By state, MSHA reports that Georgia, Texas and West Virginia each have two fatalities on the year. The other states where fatal accidents occurred are Arkansas, California, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, Nevada and Tennessee.
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