Mining company fined after electrician killed
Tuesday 14th July 2026
The company was fined £150,000 after the employee was struck by the blades of a mine BORA fan.
The electrician had been working to disconnect a communications cable near the BORA fan when the incident occurred and he suffered fatal injuries.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that, following the company’s decision to split the single unit into two separate fans, no risk assessment was produced and there were no available management documents regarding the separation. The split left the rotating parts of the Number 2 fan significantly closer to its intake guard than was safe. A cover was developed from two sheets of metal square lattice mesh; however, this was poorly designed.
When the fan was inspected the day after the incident, the intake guard was found to be in very poor condition with significant areas of mesh missing, there was a large amount of corrosion, and mesh had been ejected from the fan during the incident itself. The fans were also not registered on the mine’s Mechanical Asset Register and had not been maintained as a result.
The company pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) and Section 33(1)(a) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.