One man was killed and it "doesn't look good" for a second worker trapped inside a shuttered coal preparation plant that collapsed in rural eastern Kentucky, officials said Wednesday.
The workers had been removing machinery and preparing the facility in Martin County for demolition when the 11-story structure gave way around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, trapping the two men, officials said.
"Kentucky, we have some tough news out of Martin County to share. At least one of the workers trapped inside the collapsed coal preparation plant has died," Gov. Andy Beshear said in a statement posted on social media Wednesday.
With the help of cadaver dogs, crews dug through rubble Wednesday in hopes of finding that second man, officials said.
"The situation doesn't look good," Martin County Judge/Executive Lon Lafferty told reporters late Wednesday afternoon near the site. "This remains, as of this hour, a rescue operation. We haven't given up hope on the second worker."
Earlier Wednesday, Beshear declared a state of emergency but told Kentuckians to brace for a possible tragic outcome in Martin County, which borders West Virginia about 60 miles south of Huntington.
"Kentucky, keep praying — but the scene is bad and we should be prepared for tough news out of Martin County," he tweeted.
Lafferty said the pile of rubble he saw Wednesday reminded him of time spent in New York City following the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.
"It's horrific. I remember being in New York after 9/11, and those images that you see there is kind of what you see here, a very large structure that has collapsed on itself," Lafferty said. "So a tremendous amount of weight, a tremendous amount of force, a tremendous pile rubble [that's] there now, concrete and steel."
Kentucky Division of Emergency Management Director Jeremy Slinker said the collapse is among the worst disasters he's ever seen and compared it to a tornado that killed eight people at a candle factor in Mayfield, Kentucky, in late 2021.
This coal facility is located in a secluded, rural end of the state, where narrow roads posed challenges for rescuers to bring in heavy equipment.
“This is unlike something I’ve ever witnessed,” Slinker said.
Both men caught in the collapse reside in nearby Pike County, said officials, who are all too familiar with tragedies that can befall those in the hardscrabble coal industry.
“It’s a terrible day for us," Lafferty said. "We’ve seen tragedies like this before, associated with the industries that we’re involved in. So it’s not foreign to us, but it’s still a terrible day.”
The collapse happened at the old Pontiki Prep Plant and the building’s owner, Lexington Coal Company, gained its permit to take down the facility on Dec. 4, 2018, according to Kentucky Cabinet Energy and Environment records.
Lexington Coal would be “responsible for reclaiming the mine site, including the demolition of the prep plant, in accordance with its approved state mine permit and all applicable state and federal mining laws,” a Energy and Environment rep said in a statement Wednesday afternoon.
Reps for that company could not be immediately reached for comment.
In 2000, Martin County was the site of one of the region’s worst ecological disasters, when an estimated 250 million gallons of coal slurry leaked into local waterways.
Massey Energy paid $46 million for the cleanup, $3.5 million in state fines and undisclosed amounts to impacted residents. Massey was acquired by Alpha Natural Resources in 2011.
