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Steve Lipscomb Recovered From Flooded West Virginia Mine After Dayslong Search

Investigators are probing a suspected inflow from an unmapped water pocket after an old mine wall failed.

Overview

  • Rescue teams entered Nicholas County's Rolling Thunder Mine around 6 a.m. Thursday and located the foreman's body at 7:37 a.m., officials said.
  • Gov. Patrick Morrisey identified the victim as Steve Lipscomb, 42, of Elkview, who was last seen working to get his crew out as water rushed in.
  • Pumps removed water at roughly 6,000 gallons per minute while crews drilled boreholes and deployed dive teams during an around-the-clock, multi-day operation.
  • Alpha Metallurgical Resources said the flooding occurred during routine underground work and stated it is cooperating with state and federal investigations.
  • All other miners were accounted for after the incident at the Alpha-operated Rolling Thunder Mine near Belva and Drennen in West Virginia.