CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A Consol Energy worker who drowned in the Ohio River in late December 2008 was not adequately trained to work at the company's Ireland River Loading Facility, federal investigators have concluded.

The U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration said in a new report that its experts could not figure out exactly why or how 57-year-old Mark McIntyre fell into the river and drowned.

But MSHA investigators cited Consol's Consolidation Coal Co. subsidiary for not providing McIntyre with "adequate hazard training" for working at the loading facility in Marshall County.

"During the inspection, it appeared as though the miners working at the river loading facility had been systematically treated as employees of the McElroy Preparation Plant," said the MSHA report, released this week.

To fix the problem, MSHA said, all workers at the loading facility have been given new training "that addressed specific hazards associated with the loadout."

Working on the evening of Dec. 29, 2008, McIntyre was assigned to examine the storage area of barges at the Ireland facility for water, to determine if the water needed to be pumped out. He was also to examine conveyor belts from the loadout to Consol's preparation plant.

McIntyre was last seen at about 9:30 that night, on the upstream end of a barge that was in line to be loaded. At some point, co-workers noticed he was missing, and a search ensued. His body was found at 2:35 a.m. on Dec. 30. He was wearing a lifejacket.

A previously issued report by the state Office of Miners' Health, Safety and Training noted that no one saw McIntyre fall into the river. But the incident prompted state mine safety chief Ron Wooten to write new regulations to govern barge safety in West Virginia's coal industry.

Reach Ken Ward Jr. at kw...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1702.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A Consol Energy worker who drowned in the Ohio River in late December 2008 was not adequately trained to work at the company's Ireland River Loading Facility, federal investigators have concluded.

The U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration said in a new report that its experts could not figure out exactly why or how 57-year-old Mark McIntyre fell into the river and drowned.

But MSHA investigators cited Consol's Consolidation Coal Co. subsidiary for not providing McIntyre with "adequate hazard training" for working at the loading facility in Marshall County.

"During the inspection, it appeared as though the miners working at the river loading facility had been systematically treated as employees of the McElroy Preparation Plant," said the MSHA report, released this week.

To fix the problem, MSHA said, all workers at the loading facility have been given new training "that addressed specific hazards associated with the loadout."

Working on the evening of Dec. 29, 2008, McIntyre was assigned to examine the storage area of barges at the Ireland facility for water, to determine if the water needed to be pumped out. He was also to examine conveyor belts from the loadout to Consol's preparation plant.

McIntyre was last seen at about 9:30 that night, on the upstream end of a barge that was in line to be loaded. At some point, co-workers noticed he was missing, and a search ensued. His body was found at 2:35 a.m. on Dec. 30. He was wearing a lifejacket.

A previously issued report by the state Office of Miners' Health, Safety and Training noted that no one saw McIntyre fall into the river. But the incident prompted state mine safety chief Ron Wooten to write new regulations to govern barge safety in West Virginia's coal industry.

Reach Ken Ward Jr. at kw...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1702.