UPDATE: Coal miners say they were laid off from Pinnacle Mine
Posted: Oct 05, 2018 07:36 AM EDT
Updated: Oct 05, 2018 12:07 PM EDT
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PINEVILLE, WV (WVNS) -- Pinnacle Mine in Wyoming County is now idled and hundreds of coal mining jobs are at risk.
Earlier this week, 59 News reported the mine is scheduled to shut down today, Friday, October 5, if a buyer is not found. We're told there has been interest in the mine, but no set deal has been made at this time.
Several coal miners who worked at Pinnacle Mine have reached out to 59 News and say they were laid off Thursday night.
Sources at Pinnacle Mine confirm the mine is idled. They tell 59 News the number of workers and their hours have been scaled back. During normal operations, 330 people work at the mine daily, but for the next week, only 120 people are scheduled to work. Sources were not able to say if the schedule would be extended.
According to David Jackson with the Safety Committee for United Mine Workers of America, all underground activity at the mine has been stopped. He said only activity on the property is people who are working to pull equipment out of the mine and keep the processing plant running to move the remaining coal already mined off the site.
Jackson said the water pumps that keep the mine from flooding are still on, and there is no update on when or if those will be turned off. If they are, and the mine is flooded, Jackson said it's unlikely a buyer will found.
Copyright 2018 Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. 