187 workers at Southern Illinois coal mine laid off

GALATIA, Ill. -- The owner of a Southern Illinois coal mine says it's laying off 187 workers because of what it calls "sudden, unforeseeable circumstances and physical calamities."

American Coal Co. said affected workers at the New Future Mine in Galatia were told of the layoffs Friday.

Rob Murray is vice president of American Coal's parent company, Murray Energy. He said the "physical calamities" are "operational in nature from a mining engineering and geological standpoint." He said they're beyond the company's control.

The layoffs came one day after a congressional committee's chairman asked federal prosecutors to investigate last year's deadly collapse at a mine in Utah at least partly owned by a Murray Energy subsidiary.