BILLINGS — Three coal miners at the Signal Peak Energy mine were seriously injured when an underground portion of the mine caved in on Tuesday, February 28, 2023.
Musselshell County Disaster & Emergency Services said it received a report of the incident at about 8:37 p.m.
The agency said three miners became trapped and the mine's extraction team was able to get them out and above ground.
One was taken by helicopter to a Billings hospital, and another by ambulance; the third man drove on his own.
All three sustained what are said to be serious injuries.
The collapse happened in a section of the mine near the end of what is known as the "long wall," which is an active part of the mine where operations take place.
Two men had been taken out of the mine and it took about half an hour to help the third man, who was conscious during the extrication.
"He was the last one out," said Justin Russell, Musselshell County DES director. "As it was reported to us, he had one of his legs was still pinned under a rock, so the extrication team had to get the rock off of his leg to get them onto the backboard and transported."
Russell called this a freak accident and said the men were fortunate.
"No air was cut off," Russell said. "It wasn't a total collapse. It was just a section, again not sure the exact size but just a small section came down in the area where these miners were working."
The federal Mine Safety & Health Administration is investigating, according to the Montana Department of Labor & Industry.
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