At the time, the two miners were working more than one mile deep in the mine. Their deaths bring the toll in U.S. coal mines to three in the first two weeks of 2007. Last year, 47 coal miners were killed on the job, the most fatalities since 1995. The company said the workers who died at the Cucumber Mine were part of a crew doing "retreat mining." In this technique rooms are mined out and pillars of coal remain. Once workers reach the end of the coal seam, the miners begin to mine backing out towards the surface. The object is to go after the remaining pillars of coal, which is highly dangerous. As the crew does so, the mine roof loses its support from the pillars and collapses. Many miners call the practice "robbing the mine." Retreat mining or "pillar recovery" has long been a deadly practice that has cost many lives. Between 1989 and 1996, a quarter of all U.S. roof and rib fatalities took place during retreat mining. At least 13 of the 63 roof-fall deaths nationwide from 1996 to 2005 occurred during pillar recovery, according to the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA). During 2004 and 2005, when four miners were killed in Kentucky while "retreating," state governor Ernest Fletcher ordered a hazardous study of the technique. Although the study showed the dangers involved, neither the state nor federal governments took any action.

In a 2001 report, former West Virginia governor Robert Wise was encouraged to closely examine, and possibly ban or tightly restrict, the practice. But Wise took no action. Throughout central and northern Appalachia “retreat mining” remains common. Tony Oppegard of Lexington, Kentucky, a former MSHA attorney, said the practice is "the most dangerous type of mining there is.” He added, “I think it's highly unlikely that the state will consider outlawing retreat mining, it's too pervasive.” The Cucumber Mine is operated by Brooks Run Mining LLC, a subsidiary of Alpha Natural Resources, which owns 66 mines, mostly in Appalachia. Some 82 percent of the coal the company produces is mined through this "room and pillar" technique. Last year the company reported seven nonfatal injuries, a rate twice the national average, among its 91 workers. One of these was a roof bolter, with one year mining experience, who now has permanent disabilities, according to MSHA. During the last half of 2006, MSHA cited the mine with 32 safety violations, including six related to roof-control problems.
 
 
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Two more miners killed in W. Virginia
Thirteen miners a day killed on job in China  
 
 
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