U.S. Coal Mining Deaths Surged In 2017, One Year After They Hit A Record Low. The Nation’s Coal Mines Reported 15 Deaths Last Year, Including Eight In West Virginia. Kentucky Had Two Deaths. West Virginia Has Led The Country In Coal Mining Deaths In Six Of The Past Eight Years. That Includes 2010, When 29 Miners Were Killed In An Explosion At The Upper Big Branch Mine In Southern West Virginia.