Report Trespassers’ Deaths on Mine Property Immediately: MSHA
MSHA issued a bulletin to mine operators Jan. 11 alerting them that the death on their property of anyone, including a trespasser, must be reported at once. The agency’s top coal and metal/nonmetal mine officials signed the bulletin, which said there have been "numerous occasions when operators have not filed the required Mine Accident, Injury, and Illness Report (Form 7000-1) because they believed a death, particularly a death involving a trespasser on mine property, to be non-chargeable and therefore not reportable. This can cause the operator to be in violation of 30 CFR Part 50 reporting requirements."
The Immediate Notification section of the MINER Act requires operators to contact MSHA without delay, and within 15 minutes, by calling 800-746-1553 once they know or should know a fatal accident has occurred.
They must file Form 7000-1 within 10 days, and this applies to suicides, homicides, or deaths involving trespassers, customers, or visitors, the bulletin states.