Total killed = 15,222

* More fatalities are shown than listed in the MSHA database due to the inclusion of federal inspector fatalities that are part of OSHA records.

** Includes both the initial incident on 8/6/2007 where 6 lives were lost, and subsequent incident during the rescue efforts on 8/16/2007 that claimed the lives of three rescue workers (including one MSHA employee).

Information for historical mine disasters was obtained from the following publications:

• Bureau of Mines Bulletin 509, Injury Experience in Coal Mining, 1948
• Bureau of Mines Bulletin 616, Historical Documentation of Major Coal-Mine Disasters in the United States Not Classified as Explosions of Gas or Dust: 1846-1962
• Bureau of Mines Bulletin 586; Historical Summary of Coal-Mine Explosions in the United States, 1810-1958
• Bureau of Mines I.C. 7493, Major Disasters at Metal and Nonmetal Mines and Quarries in the United States (Excluding Coal Mines)
• Historical Summary of Mine Disasters in the United States, Volume I, Coal Mines, 1810-1958
• Historical Summary of Mine Disasters in the United States, Volume II, Coal Mines, 1959-1998
• Historical Summary of Mine Disasters in the United States, Volume III, Metal and Nonmetal Mines, 1885-1998
• 1998-present, MSHA Fatalgrams and Fatality Reports
• Newspaper article citations when available
• Archives at the National Mine Health & Safety Academy Library, Beckley, West Virginia

Historical accident reports are available in the library archives at the National Mine Health & Safety Academy in Beckley, West Virginia. Please contact the MSHA Academy at 304-256-3266 or MSHAlibrary@dol.gov to check on the availability of a particular report.  Visit MSHA's Home Page on the Internet at http://www.msha.gov for recent mine accident reports.