
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, April 18, 1991                   TAG: 9104180585
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-8   EDITION: EVENING 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: BIG STONE GAP                                LENGTH: Short

MINE PARTLY TO BLAME FOR DEATHS OF 4

LJ's Coal Corp. Mine No. 1 was at least partly to blame for a Feb. 13 roof fall that killed four miners, the state Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy said.

In a report issued Wednesday, the department said the company cut coal ribs in a way that created excessively wide and unsupported work areas inside the mine near the Lee County community of St. Charles. The mine's roof control plan called for entries 22 feet wide, but workers had widened sections to as much as 32 feet and failed to lessen the stress on the ceiling, the report said.

The fall, which was about 115 feet long and as much as 15 feet thick, was the worst Virginia mine disaster since a 1983 explosion that killed seven miners.

Department of Mines spokesman Mike Abbott said Virginia law makes no provision for a financial penalty against the mine owners or operators. But he said the department's Division of Mines will meet with Attorney General Mary Sue Terry's office to decide whether or not to pursue possible criminal violations.

The federal Mine, Safety and Health Administration also is investigating the roof fall and is expected to issue its report within the next week, officials said.

by CNB