A West Virginia coal miner was killed yesterday morning and another was seriously injured when a shuttle car they were working on moved unexpectedly.

The incident happened at Bluestone Industries' Double Bonus Coal Co. No. 65 Mine on Pinnacle Creek near Pineville, W.Va., close to the Virginia line.

According to Caryn Gresham, spokeswoman for the West Virginia Office of Miners' Health, Safety and Training, the unidentified shuttle car operator had asked a mechanic for help with a car he was working on underground about 7 a.m.

The car moved and struck the shuttle car operator, killing him, and the mechanic, causing chest and shoulder injuries. The injured miner was flown by air ambulance to Charleston.

A man who answered the phone at the No. 65 Mine yesterday said all news media calls were being handled at the company's Beckley, W.Va., headquarters, but efforts to reach someone there were unsuccessful.

The mine death was the 43rd nationwide this year, one short of doubling last year's total. Twenty-two have occurred in West Virginia mines, including 12 deaths at the Sago mine in January. That is the most deaths for one year in West Virginia mines since 1991.

West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin III said yesterday that the rising death toll continues to make him heartsick.

"This shows that mine safety is something we must keep working on to make West Virginia the safest state in the country," he said, adding that he plans to introduce additional mine safety legislation in January.

Both state and federal mine safety officials arrived at the scene yesterday to begin their investigations.

The No. 65 Mine has been in operation since June 2004, during which time it has recorded six lost-time accidents but no previous fatalities. The mine has 65 underground workers and has produced close to 200,000 tons of coal this year, according to the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration Web site.