A West Virginia coal miner was found dead inside a flooded mine on Thursday morning after a desperate five-day search, officials said.
Steven Lipscomb, a 42-year-old Elkview native, died in Rolling Thunder Mine in Nicholas County, Gov. Patrick Morrisey said in a statement.
“Over the past several days, crews have worked around the clock with courage, skill and determination, doing everything humanly possible to bring their colleague home,” Morrisey said. “Their commitment and teamwork reflect the very best of West Virginia.”
Lipscomb was leading a group of miners when they hit an unmapped pocket of water underground on Saturday. As the water rushed in, Lipscomb’s final actions were to get the rest of his crew to safety, according to mine operator Alpha Metallurgical Resources.
“His actions to ensure the safety of his crew members were heroic,” Alpha CEO Andy Eidson said in a statement. “On behalf of the entire organization, we extend our prayers and deepest sympathies to his wife, two children and all who knew and cared for him.”
Lipscomb had worked for Alpha since 2006. After he was trapped underground, crews launched a round-the-clock search effort, working 12-hour shifts and pumping millions of gallons of water out of the mine in hopes of saving him.
Lipscomb is the fifth coal miner to die in an accident this year in West Virginia. Just last week, Joey Mitchell Jr. was killed in another accident at a different mine. There were also five coal mining fatalities in the state in 2024.