Staff Writer

PRINCETON-Three people were killed Friday at the construction site of a new mining portal for Gibson County Coal.

Crews were working to remove the bodies at Gibson County Coal's portal construction site just north of the Ind. 64/65 junction in western Gibson County, several miles from the main mine complex.

The men were rising a &#8220sink basket" down into the shaft when the accident occurred at approximately 10:45 a.m.

&#8220At this point we are investigating the accident," said George Zugel, Corporate Director of Safety and Health for Frontier-Kemper Construction, the Evansville-based company contracted by Gibson County Coal to dig the portal.

Zugel said he did not know how the men fell out of the basket. He did confirm, however, that the men plummeted nearly 500 feet to a work deck that was suspended only 10 feet from the bottom of the portal.

Delton Gooch, a worker for Frontier-Kemper, of Princeton, explained the &#8220basket" goes all the way down to the work deck, which he explained moves up and down to different levels within the shaft. When the accident occurred, he said, the work deck was suspended only 10 feet from the bottom of the 500 foot shaft.

He said the basket is &#8220as big as an SUV," and said it could comfortably hold 6-10 men.

Construction on the portal began in December of 2006 and it is scheduled for completion by November. While the shaft does not yet connect to the main Gibson County Mine, Gooch said they have reached coal in the dig.

The construction site has three shifts with people working 24 hours a day in shifts that run from 8 a.m.-4 p.m., 4 p.m. - midnight, and midnight - 8 a.m. Gooch said generally the entire shift rides down in the basket at one time, and he didn't know why only three men would have been in the basket at the time of the accident.

&#8220They could have gone back to the top to retrieve supplies for the work deck," he speculated.

Gooch, who leads one of the construction teams, said when he heard about the accident he immediately started phoning his family to let them know he was OK.

The possibility of an accident with work involving mining is something the workers think of regularly, Gooch said.

&#8220If you're doing (the job) and you're going up and down in the bucket every day, of course the possibility crosses your mind," he said.

He said he didn't think it was possible that there had been any safety oversights contributed to the accident. Safety meeting are held with all of the workers on a weekly basis, and Gooch said the equipment is inspected daily.

John Ervin of Princeton said that there is occasional horseplay between the workers during their ride in the sink basket. &#8220I mean sometime we'll do this and tell them they worked hard today," he said as he mimed the motions of lightly shoving someone with his elbow. &#8220But that basket is six feet tall, you could never push someone out of it."

He said the basket is suspended on a large chain that is inspected on a daily basis. &#8220I don't understand how this could have happened. A lot of different things would have to happen in order for someone to fall out of the basket."

Ervin said he has only been working for Frontier-Kemper for six weeks, but as soon as they are allowed to resume their work he plans to go right back in.

&#8220I'll be the first one in there," he said. &#8220I've got no fear."

Work at the site has been suspended until further notice. Neither Gooch nor Ervin knew when they would be able to return to work.

During the recovery efforts no one was allowed on the property without authorization. Firetrucks from the Princeton Fire Territory, the Gibson County Sheriff's Department, Indiana State Mine Rescue, the American Red Cross Disaster Relief and rescue/recovery workers were among those permitted on site.

As workers for the recovery effort began to arrive, the Federal Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) specified a two-mile radius area around the mine as a &#8220no fly zone," although several helicopters did fly over the site.

Bob Pond, Vice President of Frontier-Kemper, said the company is fully cooperating with MSHA and a full investigation into the accident and how it occurred will be conducted. Until MSHA's report is issued, Pond said the company will not release any further details.

The identity of the three fatalities will be released by the Gibson County Coroner once the families have been notified and the coroner's report is filed.

E-mail jondi@pdclarion.com