* Incident at Willow Lake mine, southern Illinois
* Says full circumstances still unknown
* Says informed appropriate authorities
(Recasts; adds details)
July 9 (Reuters) - Coal producer Peabody Energy said an employee was killed in an accident involving a shuttle car at its Willow Lake mine in southern Illinois, in yet another mine casualty in the United States this year.
Peabody, which immediately shut down the troubled mine, said full circumstances of the underground incident were still unknown and it had informed appropriate federal and state officials about it.
The Willow Lake mine has been under the scanner of the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA). Peabody said in June it was taking aggressive steps to improve the mine's incidence rate following several citations from the MSHA.
The accident at the Peabody mine comes days after rival Massey Energy Co, being investigated for a deadly mine blast in April, said a coal processing plant under construction was damaged by fire.
The Willow Lake mine, which has a workforce of about 400, sold 3.7 million tons of coal to Midwest utility customers in 2008, according to the website of Peabody, which sold 255 million tons of coal that year.
Shares of St. Louis, Missouri-based Peabody closed at $43.29 Friday on the New York Stock Exchange.
(Reporting by Krishna N. Das in Bangalore; Editing by Don Sebastian) Keywords: PEABODY/ (Krishna.das@thomsonreuters.com; within U.S. +1 646 223 8780; outside U.S. +91 80 4135 5800; Reuters Messaging: Krishna.das.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
* Says full circumstances still unknown
* Says informed appropriate authorities
(Recasts; adds details)
July 9 (Reuters) - Coal producer Peabody Energy said an employee was killed in an accident involving a shuttle car at its Willow Lake mine in southern Illinois, in yet another mine casualty in the United States this year.
Peabody, which immediately shut down the troubled mine, said full circumstances of the underground incident were still unknown and it had informed appropriate federal and state officials about it.
The Willow Lake mine has been under the scanner of the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA). Peabody said in June it was taking aggressive steps to improve the mine's incidence rate following several citations from the MSHA.
The accident at the Peabody mine comes days after rival Massey Energy Co, being investigated for a deadly mine blast in April, said a coal processing plant under construction was damaged by fire.
The Willow Lake mine, which has a workforce of about 400, sold 3.7 million tons of coal to Midwest utility customers in 2008, according to the website of Peabody, which sold 255 million tons of coal that year.
Shares of St. Louis, Missouri-based Peabody closed at $43.29 Friday on the New York Stock Exchange.
(Reporting by Krishna N. Das in Bangalore; Editing by Don Sebastian) Keywords: PEABODY/ (Krishna.das@thomsonreuters.com; within U.S. +1 646 223 8780; outside U.S. +91 80 4135 5800; Reuters Messaging: Krishna.das.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.