In the United States , an average of 23 coal miners per year died in the decade 2007 – 2016 . Recent U.S. coal-mining disasters include the Sago Mine disaster of January 2006 . In 2007 , a mine accident in Utah 's Crandall Canyon Mine killed nine miners , with six entombed . The Upper Big Branch Mine disaster in West Virginia killed 29 miners in April 2010
Sago Mine disaster
Sago Mine disaster
Environmental impact of the coal industry