‘Our entire county is heartbroken.’ How coal plant collapse has impacted an EKY community
New access to the scene where an 11-story coal preparation plant collapsed in Martin County showed how devastating the damage was when the building fell Tuesday, trapping two workers under stories of concrete and steel.
Media were granted limited access to the site Friday, as rescuers were still trying to find the workers. Martin County Judge-Executive Lon Lafferty, who grew up in Martin County, described how upsetting the incident was for the local population. He said he is well-versed in interacting with families dealing with tragedy in his 40 years of experience as a physician, but this is impacting him differently.
“This is different, this is just totally different,” Lafferty said. “I know because I know the people here in the county. I was born and raised here and I know that not just the families, but our entire county is heartbroken.”
Wreckage from the building had scattered across a wide stretch of land in the former coal mining complex, which hasn’t been home to an active coal mine for years. As search crews continued their efforts all week, they had to deal with the volatility of the shifting rubble and cold temperatures, which had brought a hard frost to the region.
Emergency vehicles, from ambulances, to police cruisers to mobile command trailers, sat on the edge of the site as more than a dozen emergency response agencies had responded to the scene over the course of the week.
Kentucky Emergency Management Director Jeremy Slinker said he’s talked to experts at the scene and they consider this one of the biggest building collapses in Kentucky’s history.
“We recognize how large of an operation and how unique this is, especially for rural Kentucky,” Slinker said. “It’s just not what you think of when you think of large structural collapses.”
Later Friday, Lafferty confirmed both workers, 57-year-old Alvin Nees and Billy Ray “Bo” Daniels, had died. Nees’ body had been recovered and was set to be sent to the state Medical Examiner’s Office for an autopsy. Crews were still working to recover Daniels’ body.
Nees and Daniels were preparing the structure for demolition when it collapsed. Daniels was confirmed dead Wednesday.
