APRIL 29, 2015
WHITNEY, PA. (AP)
Three workers have been hurt, two seriously, after ground
moved at an underground limestone mine in western Pennsylvania.
Jeff Sieg, a spokesman for Lehigh Hanson, the mine's parent
company, says the collapse inside the mine caused air to rush out of its
entrance about 5 a.m. Wednesday.
Three workers about to enter the Whitney quarry in Unity
Township, Westmoreland County were hurt.
But Sieg says it's unclear whether they were harmed by being
pushed back or knocked down by the rush of air, or whether they were hit by
debris as a result, or both.
The workers were about 50 feet from the mine's entrance when
they were injured.
Two were unconscious and flown to Pittsburgh hospitals while
a third was taken by ambulance to a closer hospital nearby.
Channel
11’s Brandon Hudson talked with Anthony Matuszky, the chief of the
Whitney-Hostetter Volunteer Fire Department.
He said the two workers who were flown to Pittsburgh
“appeared to be in very serious condition,” while the third worker appeared to
have a broken arm or shoulder.
Hudson also found the Whitney quarry had more than a dozen
violations going back to 2012, while the most recent violation last month
involved hazardous conditions and safety equipment defects.
Most of those violations have been assessed and fixed.