WHARTON, W.Va. - Officials from the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration say two workers were trapped and killed in an accident at a West Virginia coal mine.

Amy Louviere of the agency told The Associated Press in an email this morning that a ground failure occurred at the mine around 8:30 p.m. Monday. She says the miners' bodies have been recovered, and personnel from the agency are on the site.

Brody Mine No. 1 in Boone County is owned by St. Louis-based Patriot Coal.

In October, the safety agency designated the mine as a pattern violator, meaning it had repeatedly broken federal health and safety regulations in the previous year.

Patriot said in a statement at the time that it believed the mine didn't qualify for the status and that it intended to contest it.