Mine Fatality in Hopkins County

Cardinal Mine near Madisonville site of accident

FRANKFORT, Ky. (Oct. 14, 2020) – A 58-year-old coal miner was killed Tuesday at the Cardinal mine, near Madisonville, Hopkins County. The mine is owned by Warrior Coal, a subsidiary of Alliance Resource Partners.

Phillip Ramsey, of Madisonville, Kentucky, a shuttle car operator, began his shift at 2:45 p.m. Tuesday. The 29-year mining veteran was out of his shuttle car working on ventilation curtains when he was struck by a coal scoop at approximately 8:30 p.m. He was taken to Baptist Health Hospital in Madisonville but was pronounced dead.

“This man’s death is especially tragic as this is the second miner that we have lost within a week,” said Gov. Andy Beshear. “Please join me in expressing my deep condolences to his family, friends and community.”

All mining operations were shut down after the accident and will continue to be suspended while an investigation continues. The Kentucky Department for Natural Resources, Division of Mine Safety, sent investigators to the mine Tuesday evening.

“Our sympathy goes out to Mr. Ramsey’s family for his untimely loss,” Kentucky Energy and Environment Secretary Rebecca Goodman said. “The cabinet works daily to keep miners safe through training and inspections and when accidents like this happen, we look carefully at what happened and how it could have been prevented. We will work with the Cardinal mine to do just that.”