BARTON — A mine superintendent of Vindex Energy and another worker apparently escaped serious injuries when a scheduled mine site blast blew a “sizable” amount of shale and rock into a nearby sediment and storm water pond.

Rodney Tichnell was taken to Garrett Memorial Hospital for examination and then released following the 3:15 p.m. incident Friday that occurred in the Potomac Hollow area, according to John E. Carey, director of the Maryland Bureau of Mines.

A second worker whose identity was not immediately available apparently did not require medical treatment.

The incident occurred when a shot set off by Dyno-Nobel Inc. blasting company to break rock and recover coal “blew out in the wrong direction,” launching a sizable amount of broken shale and rock into the sediment pond that measured approximately one-half acre.

Sediment already in the pond was immediately displaced, sending an unspecified amount of the earthen materials down over a hill into a tributary of Moore’s Run and onto the coal haul road.

The incident pushed a pickup truck occupied by Tichnell and the unnamed co-worker off the road and about 100 feet over a slope. However, the truck remained upright and both men apparently got out of the truck under their own power, Carey said.

Tichnell reportedly suffered a “bump on the head,” Carey said, adding that there were no other visible injuries to the two men.

Carey said a Bureau of Mines inspector responded within a half-hour of the incident and that he, Carey, was there about two hours after the incident occurred.

Carey said the incident remains under investigation.

“We collected the shot report, took photos and gathered evidence to find out what happened and why.

“We don’t see negligence at this time. But there will be violations issued for off-site impacts,” said Carey.

Contact Jeffrey Alderton at jlalderton@times-news.com.