BY RACHEL DOVE
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN

PILGRIM — Martin County Judge Executive, Lon Lafferty, announced late Friday afternoon that the body of Alvin Nees, 57, had been successfully recovered from beneath tons of steel and concrete that resulted from a coal tipple collapse at the former Pontiki preparation plant on Wolf Creek in Pilgrim Oct. 31. Within a short period of time, information was released that the body of Billy Joe “Bo” Daniels, also 57, had been successfully freed from beneath a large concrete slab/beam that had prevented earlier extrication. Both men were from neighboring Pike County.

Nees was pronounced dead by Martin County Coroner Chris Todd at 2:32 p.m. Friday. Daniels had been pronounced Wednesday morning at 7:05 a.m. The bodies were transported by the coroner to the State Medical Examiner’s office in Frankfort late Friday night for autopsies. According to Todd, the medical examiner issued preliminary results on Saturday.

Although it will be four to six weeks before the complete findings are released, the findings for Nees state that he died from multiple blunt force trauma injuries sustained in a building collapse, including a closed head injury, bilateral rib fractures, transverse fracture of T11 vertebrae with transection of spinal cord (tear within the spinal cord), cutaneous contusions, abrasions and petechia.

For Daniels, results state that he expired due to complications of blunt force trauma sustained in a building collapse including a pelvic fracture, status-post partial right lower extremity above the knee amputation, cutaneous contusions, abrasions and lacerations. Toxicology results for both men are pending.

Around the clock, recovery operations at the former Pontiki/Lexington Coal Preparation Plant on Meathouse Fork of Wolf Creek had continued into their third day, as experts in extrication and building collapse procedures labored alongside firefighters, county workers, first responders and volunteers. All involved had but one thought in mind, that was to recover the bodies of two workers who had been trapped under tons of steel, concrete and rubble following the collapse of an 11-story coal tipple on Halloween night.

Timeline

At approximately 6:30 on Tuesday evening, Martin County 911 received a call reporting the coal tipple had collapsed. It was in the process of being demolished and salvaged by Skeen Enterprises LLC, which had been contracted by Lexington Coal Company LLC, owners of the property.

Emergency personnel who were first on scene said they could hear Daniels yelling for help but detected no response from Nees, but one of the crew members working with the men claims to have heard Nees “doing some hard praying” for approximately a minute following the accident but hadn’t been heard of him since.

Numerous emergency response teams from the local area and all across the state began arriving at the scene, with Sheriff John Kirk requesting heavy equipment, operators and crib blocks be brought to the scene. Once he arrived, the sheriff said the scene before him was nothing like he had seen in his entire life.

“Tons and tons of concrete and steel from the 11-story coal tipple prep plant had imploded and crashed to the ground, leaving in its wake an unstable mass of twisted metal and debris that covered a huge piece of ground,” said the sheriff. “It looked like a bomb had went off. If I hadn’t known what the structure was prior to seeing it on the ground, I would have been unable to even ventured a guess as to what it was.”

Kirk, along with first responders and fire fighters on scene immediately began to focus on a plan to reach Daniels, who they could hear yelling for help.

“At that time, there was no one at the scene with specialized training to enter a collapsed building that at best, left a very small crawl space to move in the direction we believed Mr. Daniels to be trapped. It was beyond our expertise, and we requested a confined space rescue team from Pikeville to respond. Once their team who is with the City of Pikeville Fire Department arrived, they began formulating a plan to make entry into the unstable structure to administer first aid to the trapped worker and evaluate his condition as best they could.”

“I have never witnessed the level of bravery I have seen in the four firefighters that entered that mangled mess Tuesday night. There’s no amount of praise or compliments I could give them that would come close to expressing my admiration and appreciation for what they were attempting to do,” said the sheriff.

The sheriff said the firefighters were able to slowly crawl and maneuver their way toward Daniels by working from overhead, and quickly realized the man was trapped from the waist down by concrete and could not move his lower extremities. He was administered first aid to the extent possible due to the confined space and placed on oxygen. Warming pads were requested as the nighttime temperature dropped below freezing. Portable heaters, toboggans and gloves were brought to the scene to assist in keeping the patient as warm as possible.

Constant communication continued with the trapped worker by those on scene, as they did their best to provide comfort. As time passed, it became apparent that Daniels condition was deteriorating, and Daniels agreed to have trauma surgeons dispatched to the scene for possible amputation of his lower limb.

“This was not an easy decision for the trapped man and after being notified that his ex-wife with who he was still involved was on scene at the staging area below where we were, Mr. Daniels asked me to speak with her and tell her how much he loved her and to ask what he should do,” explained Sheriff Kirk. “She told me to tell Bo that she just wanted him to survive and if the only chance he had to possibly live, to please let the surgeon remove his legs. She was made aware this was a tedious procedure with a high chance for complications and that the chance of survival was slim, but believed any chance was better than none.”

“She told me to go back up and tell him she loved him very much and to please let them perform the amputation.”

Kirk said he relayed details of the conversation to the surgeon and in turn, the surgeon spoke with Daniels, who agreed to allow the amputation to proceed. Sadly, the trapped man did not survive the procedure and passed away after one leg was removed.

“Before the surgeon had arrived, a pastor was brought to the scene that prayed with Daniels,” said Kirk. “He told us he had made things right with God. He got a look of peace on his face that we hadn’t seen before and I felt that regardless of the outcome, God had heard his prayers. I wish with all my heart it would have ended on a good note.”

Wednesday, Nov. 1

County officials including Judge Lafferty, Deputy Judge Carolea Mills, County Emergency Director Kayla May, County Road and Facilities Manager Eric Phelps were joined by Col. Jeremy Slinker, Director of Kentucky Emergency Management and his Public Information officer, Jesse Elbouab, along with Lexington Fire Chief and Urban Search and Rescue Director, Chris Ward, who also supplied a search and rescue canine, conducted a press conference on Wednesday outlining how the events played out and that the judge had declared a state of emergency for the county which was followed by an announcement of a state emergency from Governor Andy Beshear for the state, which allowed for assistance and resources that would not have otherwise been available.

Slinker told media that all rescue attempts were extremely dangerous and endangered the lives and safety and that equipment and machinery from across the state, as well as those with specialized training, would be utilized to assist with the search that, at that time, was still considered a rescue since the second worker had not been confirmed dead.

“It’s horrific,” said the judge, when asked how he would describe the scene he looked upon Wednesday morning. “I remember being in New York after 911 and those images are what you see up the hill here,” said Lafferty. “A very large structure that has collapsed in on itself that was approximately 130 feet high with concrete structures on each floor, so a tremendous amount of weight force came down – there’s just a huge pile of rubble there now.”

Slinker was asked to explain the biggest challenges and obstacles were that the search and rescue workers were facing at the scene.

“Communication,” replied Slinker. “This area is void of cell service and we could not get any internet service, so being able to get timely and factual updates into agencies such as the state emergency management office to brief ourselves and others was extremely difficult. Everything had to be relayed through several first responders, to the local dispatchers and then to the office or person the information was meant for.”

Adding his comments to the description of the scene that Lafferty had described, Slinker said in 30 years of serving emergency management and responding to disasters, the coal tipple collapse was like nothing he had ever seen and compared it to the magnitude of the destruction caused by a tornado that struck the Mayfield Candle Factory.

The Kentucky Division of Occupational Safety and Health Compliance had inspectors at the scene on Wednesday and have opened an inspection into the reclamation process ongoing at the time of the collapse. The Department of Mines and Minerals were also on scene.

According to Slinker, the investigation could take up to six months to complete.

Search and rescue attempts continued through Wednesday night, with additional mutual aid crews responding from a variety of locations including Ashland, Lexington and Louisville. The workers were divided into shifts and were assigned to different tasks. Crews had no luck locating Ness or removing Daniels’ body from the rubble.

In an exclusive interview with The Mountain Citizen, Sheriff John Kirk spoke of the actions being taken to rescue or recover the trapped workers and also of his appreciation for every person that had responded to assist with the efforts, as well as the churches and members of the county that had stepped up to provide food, drinks and other needs the countless volunteers, local and state officials and first responders may have.

“We are starting to get cranes and torches and other vital pieces of equipment brought in and we will begin taking the prep plant apart piece by piece to try to recover the individuals that are trapped,” said Kirk. “We know one is deceased, but no contact has been made with the other. We all need to be in prayer for the families, the workers who have gone above and beyond while risking their own lives. We also need to pray for the trauma surgeon who came last night to try to free the worker trapped under a concrete slab. Sadly, those attempts were unsuccessful.”

Thursday, Nov. 2

Thursday morning, Nov. 2, an update was provided during a second news conference that detailed what could be referred to as an assembly line of volunteers who worked side by side to physically remove pieces of the concrete by hand while attempting to not dislodge debris that could cause a shift in the fallen structure that could possibly cause a second collapse.

Col. Slinker stated that if the second missing worker, who at that time was identified along with his co-worker, was not located before the end of the day, they would shift tactics on Thursday and enter a new phase.

Striker told the media the site had been cleared for asbestos and as a precaution, those searching had been wearing N-95 masks and respirators. Potable water, portable toilets and other necessities were transported to the site to accommodate the needs of the many volunteers.

Additional equipment arrived throughout the day that would allow for larger sections of the rubble to be removed at one time, in an effort to speed up the recovery process. Cameras and listening devices, as well as search dogs had been utilized over and over again starting Nov. 1 in the hopes of finding some sign of where the body of Alvin Nees was located.

On Thursday afternoon, family members of both men traveled to the location and were taken to the Buck Branch Church where they were fed by church volunteers and county and state officials were able to speak with them in a group setting as well as one-on-one, as they shared information about the operations underway to recover their families.

Search efforts continued throughout the night on Thursday to locate Nees, to no avail.

Friday, Nov. 3

Friday morning, members of media began to gather at the location and were then taken to an area where partial view of the tipple collapse was visible but prevented any interference or distraction of the volunteers and searchers still going on at ground zero. A photo opportunity was provided to those who wished to take them.

Friday afternoon, at approximately 4 p.m., an impromptu press conference was held during which Judge Lafferty announced that Nees had been located and his body recovered. His death had been pronounced at approximately 2:30 by the coroner.

Not long after Nees was recovered, Lafferty again spoke with media and verified that Daniels body had also been recovered and said they would both be sent for autopsy, per protocol. Striker said OSHA officials would assume custody of the site as soon as crews and equipment were off the hill, and that once they conclude their inspection and report, the property would be returned to its owner, which is Lexington Coal.

Sheriff Kirk was asked whether the county would be responsible for future security for the site and was told no, with the sheriff explaining that the property owner would be responsible for maintaining the building collapse and its removal, as well as hiring security to deter trespassers from venturing on the scene to get their own look at the horrific view that now taints the landscape.

Search crews began dispersing and the slow process of loading equipment and breaking down the scene began. During that time, representatives with the Kentucky State Department of the Environmental Protection Agency returned to the scene and performed cleanup of an oily residue that was said to be petroleum that had seeped into the ground and nearby stream (see separate story).

“I never imagined responding to a situation like this after being appointed as the Emergency Management Director for the county,” said Kayla May. “You could never truly prepare yourself for something like this, but I am proud to say that our county out did themselves over the last three days. We can’t fail to mention and thank those who traveled from all across Kentucky to lend a hand and offer their wealth of knowledge and expertise. From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank each and every one of you for your time and effort, and I promise it will never be forgotten. Please continue to pray for our county and the families who have suffered such a terrible loss.”

Judge Lafferty echoed May’s sentiment, commending Martin County’s emergency response from the sheriff to emergency management and fire and rescue teams. He noted the outpouring of love and help from residents and churches who supplied equipment, food and support. The judge also expressed gratitude for the many agencies that came to Pilgrim from across the state to help.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the men who lost their lives,” said the judge.