A coal miner died after a heavy piece of mining machinery fell on him in an underground mine in western Kentucky.
Rickey Thorpe of Dawson Springs was working on a continuous mining machine early Wednesday morning in the Sebree Mine in Webster County when he was crushed. The mining machine is a broad, flat vehicle that uses cutting teeth to quickly dig into a coal seam.
Officials with the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet say the 29-year-old Thorpe was working on the equipment when the accident occurred at 2:20 a.m. CDT. No one else was hurt.
The mine, owned by Alliance Resource Partners, has been closed while officials investigate the incident.
It was the second mine-related death in Kentucky this year.