Department for Natural Resources
One Person Dead Following Mining Accident in Letcher County

           A Letcher County, Ky., coal miner has died from injuries received in a surface mining accident Thursday morning. 32 year-old Jeremy L. Stewart of Jenkins, Ky., died when a rock truck he was operating went over a refuse dump on the mine site and crashed. Investigators say Stewart was taken to Whitesburg Appalachian Regional Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

           The mine license is held by J & A Mining, Inc. Stewart is listed on the license as the mine foreman and mine superintendent.

            Officials from the Kentucky Office of Mine Safety and Licensing are conducting an investigation into the cause of the accident. Interviews will be conducted in Whitesburg tomorrow to further determine the circumstances surrounding the accident.  The mine will remain closed until further notice.  This is the first mining-related fatality in Kentucky in 2009.