West Virginia ? Two members of a coal mining crew removing pillars in a mine died Saturday when a portion of the tunnel collapsed and the men were buried in debris deep underground, authorities said.

None of the other miners in the 35-member crew was injured, said Ted Pile, a spokesman for Alpha Natural Resources, whose subsidiary, Brooks Run Mining, operates the mine.

Pile said the crew was working on a process called retreat mining in which the miners work back toward the entrance extracting coal from the pillars that support the ceiling, Pile said.

Dispatchers said the accident scene was up to 1 1/2 miles beyond the entrance to the mine, about 90 miles west of Roanoke, Va.

The state mine safety director, Ron Wooten, said it was unclear whether a pillar or portion of the ceiling collapsed. He had earlier said the miners apparently were caught when a pillar fell.