By Associated Press
Louisville, Kentucky – Federal mine regulators have cited the owner of a western Kentucky mine after concluding that an unsupported roof caused a "massive section" to collapse and kill two miners.
The Mine Safety Health Administration issued its report Friday on the accident at the Dotiki mine on the Wester-Hopkins County line. The report says the collapse couldn't be foreseen, but Tulsa, Okla.-based Allied Resource Partners should have taken more steps to support the roof.
The collapse that killed 27-year-old Justin Travis and 28-year-old Michael Carter.
The state previously issued a notice of noncompliance to the mine's operator, Webster County Coal, for violations of state laws that require companies to have adequate roof control plans in underground mines.
Kenny Murray, the vice president of Allied Resource Partners, said in a statement that because the collapse wasn't foreseeable, the citation is unjustified.