Pittsburgh-Area Man Crushed To Death By Falling Rock

PITTSBURGH, PA — A Pittsburgh-area man died Monday night after being crushed by a falling rock.

Zachary Wolfe, 34, of Rices Landing was fatally injured while working at the Bailey Mine in Aleppo Township, Greene County, Pennsylvania State Police concerned.

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Mine owner Core Natural Resources issued the following statement to WTAE-TV that said in part, "We are working with state and federal officials to investigate the cause of the accident."

Core Natural Resources was created in January 2025 with the merger of Consol Energy Inc. and Arch Resources. It is based in Canonsburg Washington County.

The Bailey Mine employs longwall mining techniques. According to ScienceDirect, longwall mining is a continuous mining system that was developed for mining coal deposits uniform in thickness and slope or where the overburden pressures may crush support pillars or for improving productivity.

This method relies on the complete extraction of the coal in a designated area referred to as a panel (of solid coal). As the panel is mined, complete subsidence or caving of the overlying rock strata occurs into the mined-out area behind the working mine face.