ECCLES, W.Va. -
The Beckley community mourns the loss of a coal miner.
Mine Safety and Health Administration officials arrive on scene at the ICG Beckley LLC Beckley Pocahontas Mine near Eccles as our crews arrived.
They would not speak to 59 News on camera but did tell us they were there to investigate Byers' death.
By early morning, word had already gotten around Raleigh County about the fallen miner.
"It is just so sad for the whole community and the man's family," Virgil Pyatt of Breckenridge said.
State officials said 43-year old Byers, of Beckley died Tuesday night as a result from crushing injuries he suffered from being pinned by mining equipment.
Just miles down the road, former coal miners sell mining gear. They tell us miners are under a lot of pressure one small slip up could be deadly.
"Those places are so busy down there now and if someone messes up... someone dies," Leonard Moses of Raleigh County said.
And this is the second coal mining death in under a week.
If you remember Johnny Mack Bryant the second was killed in a Boone County coal mine just 5 days ago.
"I think it is awful to hear that someone so young has passed away and these mines are just so dangerous anymore it seems like right and left they are just leaving us," Darlene Pyatt, Raleigh County said.
Officials on both the state and federal level have been called into investigate Byers death. They said it will take several days to tell us what happened. Until then, the community continues to mourn the loss of this fallen miner.
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