Report Says Piece Of Falling Coal Killed Miner In Raleigh County

More details have been reported about the death of a coal miner in Raleigh County last month.

A piece of coal fell and struck 46-year-old Billy Stalker, a contract worker at the Black Eagle Mine, on Feb. 28. He had 28 years of experience at the time, including 10 with his company.

Stalker’s death was the second in West Virginia this year of a coal miner and the fourth nationwide, according to the Mine Safety and Health Administration.

MSHA is investigating Stalker’s death as well as the death of a miner at the Twilight Surface Mine in Boone County in January.

Mine fatalities have declined in recent decades, and sometimes end the year in single digits.

Last year, 10 miners were killed on the job – half of them in West Virginia – according to MSHA, and nine in 2023. Five were killed in 2020, the lowest on record.