| On-the-job fatalities in West Virginia rose 72 percent last year.
Seventy-nine workers were killed on the job in 2006, up from 46 in 2005.
It was the highest total for the state since the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics started keeping the records in 1992.
Explosions accounted for 13 state workplace deaths, nine workers died on the job from fires and seven workers died after being struck by objects.
Highway accidents continued to be the top on-the-job killer, accounting for 16 deaths.
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