Trapped miner confirmed dead in Pennsylvania incident

UPDATE: Arcosa has confirmed their employee trapped in the Laurel Aggregates Lake Lynn Mine on Friday has died. The company issued a statement Saturday morning.

“We are deeply saddened to confirm a fatality has occurred as a result of an accident at the Laurel Aggregates mine. We extend our deepest sympathies to the employee’s family and friends. Arcosa is cooperating with the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) along with local authorities to investigate the cause of this accident.” Jeff Eller, Spokesman for Arcosa.

The victim’s name has not been released.

LAKE LYNN, Pa. — A man injured in a mining operation in Pennsylvania near the West Virginia border was freed overnight, but his condition is unknown. Crews were able to reach the victim who was trapped underground at the Laurel Aggregates Lake Lynn Mine for about eight hours Friday afternoon.

The mine is a limestone operation located just north of the West Virginia border in Fayette County, Pennsylvania.

“This is a quarry, but there is an underground mine portion of it, that’s the type of facility certainly there’s surface mining there’s underground mining,” community relations coordinator for the Pennsylvania DEP, Lauren Fraley told Pittsburgh TV station WTAE.

The American Red Cross of Greater Pennsylvania indicated via Twitter Friday night they had been dispatched to the site to provide mental health services.

“Trained and skilled Red Crossers are en route to provide help and support,” read the tweet.

Laurel Aggregates’ parent company Arcosa released the following statement Friday afternoon:

“At this time, we are focused on responding to an emergency incident at our Lake Lynn, Pennsylvania aggregate facility. The safety of our employees is our number one priority. More information will be shared when appropriate.”

Officials from the Federal Mine Safety and Health Administration and the Pennsylvania DEP’s Bureau of Mine Safety are also on site probing the cause of the accident.