Miner suffers fatal injuries after shaft collapses

1:10pm Thursday 2nd October 2008

Comments (4)   Have your say »

A NORTH Yorkshire miner has died after part of a mine shaft roof collapsed at a colliery.

Donald Cook, 50, of The Poplars, Brayton, near Selby, sustained serious injuries in the incident at Kellingley Colliery, in Knottingley, at about 8.30pm on Tuesday.

A North Yorkshire Police spokesman said Mr Cook had been working underground when the roof above him gave way.

A spokeswoman for Yorkshire Ambulance Service said they had received a report of a man trapped at the mine.

She said: “We sent one rapid response vehicle, one emergency ambulance and one operational supervisor and conveyed one male patient to Pontefract General Infirmary.”

Inspector Simon Lovell, of North Yorkshire Police, said Mr Cook was pronounced dead at the hospital at 10.55pm on Tuesday.

Insp Lovell said HM Inspectorate Of Mines has launched an investigation into the incident.

He said it would be a matter for the coroner to ascertain the cause of death. The Press contacted Mr Cook’s family last night, but they said they would not be making a statement. UK Coal was last night unavailable for comment.

With reserves of around 50 million tonnes, Kellingley Colliery is the largest remaining deep mine in Yorkshire.

About 550 people are employed at the mine.