On April 28, at about 10:40 p.m. CST, the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) received word of a roof collapse at the Dotiki [Coal] Mine (ID 15-02132) in Hopkins County, Ky. Dotiki is operated by Webster County Coal, LLC and owned by Alliance Resource Partners, LP.

Two miners are unaccounted for, and efforts to contact them have been unsuccessful. MSHA personnel began arriving at the mine at 11:15 p.m.

Rescue personnel entered the mine beginning around 11:30 p.m., and traveled approximately four miles by conveyance to the area where the miners are trapped. Rescue efforts, which include stabilizing the roof and loading out debris, had to be halted around 4:50 a.m. due to adverse roof conditions. These efforts resumed after the roof was stabilized.

MSHA personnel on site include the district manager, assistant district manager, family liaison, roof control supervisor and a roof control specialist. Representatives from the Kentucky Office of Mine Safety and Licensing also are on site.

A look at the mine:

• 367 employees
• Average daily production: 25,500 tons
• Seam height average: 60 inches
• Three shifts (2 production and 1 maintenance)
• Mine ID number: 15-02132