BENWOOD, W.Va. — West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice reports that a coal miner died in a fall Friday in the state’s Northern Panhandle, said.

The death of Jeffrey A. Phillips, 44, is at least the third in the U.S. coal mining industry already this year. Other deaths have occurred this month in Indiana and Kentucky, according to the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration.
Phillips worked for contractor NextGen Industrial Services.

The governor’s office said in a statement that Phillips fell while working above a beltline in the prep plant of an Ohio County Coal Co. mine in the Marshall County community of Benwood.

Benwood Police Chief Frank Longwell said the worker was not wearing a body harness and fell about 30 feet.

The mine was down for maintenance and was not operating at the time.