WSIL-TV 3 ABC
Top Stories
Last updated 5:08 am CT February 09, 2010.
Worker Killed At Sugar Camp Mine Franklin Co.
Robert Comer III, 38, of Elizabethtown, Illinois, was working for Cowin Company -- an independent contractor -- that was sinking the shaft for the mine, according to Franklin County Coroner Marty Leffler.
Comer was among a group of workers pouring concrete. It appears Comer was moving his safety harness when he stepped through an opening in the raised work platform above the shaft and fell 39 feet. He was air lifted to Franklin Hospital in Benton. He was pronounced dead at 10:48 PM, according to Leffler.
Comer is survived by his wife, 3-year old twins and a 14-year old son. Funeral arrangements are still pending.
Nationwide,this is the 12th mine related fatality of the year, according to Mine Safety and Health Administration. An MSHA spokeswoman says the construction area where the accident occured has been closed while federal investigators look into the incident.
Sugar Camp Energy LLC is located at 11351 Thompsonville Road in Macedonia, which is 8.5 miles northeast of Benton. This is mine is still under development and coal production has not started.
General Location of the Sugar Camp Mine
View Larger Map
Additional Links:
Now: 1265714278
