The crane fell while setting a conveyor tube on supports above railroad tracks. The conveyor tube is 280 feet (85m) long, 13 feet (4m) in diameter and weighs about 480,000 lb (217t).
TIC is constructing a truck dump, coal crushing facilities, a two-mile long conveyor, silo head house and train loadout system at the Thunder Basin Coal Company’s mine. TIC has a total of 150 employees on site.
A Lampson employee injured in the incident was discharged from hospital a day later. Two employees of general contractor TIC (The Industrial Company Wyoming, of Casper, Wyoming), were also injured, ironworkers Andrew Milonis, 35, of Wright, Wyoming, and Federico Salinas, 54, of Brownsville, Texas.
Lampson employees were operating the crane under direction of TIC, a Lampson spokesman said.
President Bill Lampson and the company’s chief engineer arrived at the site within a few hours of the incident. A Lampson spokesman said that the accident investigation is still in its infancy, and there were no early conclusions about what had gone wrong. The accident is being investigated by the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), TIC, the mine owner, Lampson International and others.
TIC is providing transportation, lodging and other assistance to the families of the injured TIC employees.
Dean Brister, president of TIC – The Industrial Company Wyoming, Inc., said: “Our prayers and wishes for a full recovery go out to Andrew and Frederico, and the injured Lampson operator. We are making every effort to provide all necessary assistance to the injured employees and their family members. We will stay in close contact with family members and medical personnel to monitor the medical progress of our employees, and to assure that their needs are being met.”
