Len Wells

Special to the Courier & Press

DAHLGREN, Ill. — An accident at the underground Hamilton County Coal Mine near Dahlgren, Illinois, has claimed the life of a Saline County, Illinois, man.

John Ditterline, 55, of Equality, Illinois, was pronounced dead at 4:45 a.m. Saturday.

Hamilton County Coroner Steve Bowling said Ditterline was working for Clay, Kentucky-based S & L Industries as a contract employee in the underground mine when he was killed.

Workers found Ditterline's body near a set of 18 feet wide doors that close automatically, Bowling said. Results from Saturday's autopsy are pending.

Bowling said while Ditterline had worked at the Hamilton County Mine for only a short time, he was a 30 year veteran of the coal mining industry. The incident remains under investigation by the federal Mine Safety Health Administration (MSHA) and the Hamilton County coroner's office although foul play isn't suspected, he said.

Ditterline's death was the first fatal mining accident in 2019, according to MSHA records.

The Hamilton County Coal Mine is operated by Tulsa, Oklahoma-based Alliance Resource Partners, LP. The firm operates eight coal mining facilities in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland and West Virginia. They also operate a coal loading facility along the Ohio River in Mount Vernon, Indiana.

More:Dropped cigarette leads to fatal S. Illinois crash, police

More:Does Rami Malek's Golden Globe win increase his Oscar chances?