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A preventable tragedy at Pontiki/Excel coal tipple
The collapse of the Pontiki/Excel coal preparation plant last fall in Martin County, which resulted in the deaths of Alvin Nees and Billy Joe “Bo” Daniels, was a catastrophic consequence of negligence, flagrant disregard for safety regulations and the lack of moral and legal responsibilities. A litany of failures As a report by Kentucky Lantern…
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Deaths of two Kentucky workers demolishing coal-prep plant bring $31,500 fine for safety violations
BY LIAM NIEMEYER kentuckylantern.com On a cool evening in late October, David Peyton heard a pop then a warning scream to get out. Within seconds two men were trapped under 11 stories of steel and concrete. Peyton ran to where Alvin Nees and Billy Joe “Bo” Daniels were trapped in the collapsed Pontiki/Excel coal preparation…
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Bodies of trapped workers recovered from Pontiki coal tipple collapse
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.…
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Rescue efforts continue for two men trapped in collapsed coal tipple at Pontiki Plant
BY RACHEL DOVE MOUNTAIN CITIZEN PILGRIM — A search and rescue for two men trapped at the Pontiki Coal Preparation Plant in Martin County continued at 11:45 p.m. Tuesday. The men became trapped at around 6:30 p.m. when a 12-story coal tipple they were dismantling collapsed. The two, part of the Stanley Skeens Contracting team…
