SUMTER COUNTY, Fla. — A blast team supervisor is trapped underwater and feared dead after the ground gave way at a Sumter County limerock mine Thursday. The effort to recover the man's body is expected to take anywhere between 24 and 48 hours, according to Lake-Sumter EMS, because of the challenges in safely locating the body.
SLIDESHOW: Images From Scene Of Accident
The man, identified late Thursday afternoon as 35-year-old Kenneth James Stephens Jr. of Beverly Hills, Fla., was working at the Mazak Mine near SR-50 and 469 in Mabel (see map).
According to the Sumter County Sheriff's Office, Mid-Coast Aggregates Mining performed a routine blast to the lime pit and, several minutes later, gave an all clear. Officials said the blasting supervisor approached the area to inspect it and was 30 feet from the blast area when the ground gave it, collapsed around him and caused him to fall into the lime pit.
Emergency crews that arrived on the scene just before 12:30pm were unable locate the man from the surface. The Sumter County Sheriff's Office also flew their helicopter overhead with no results.
Officials said a pontoon boat was lowered into the pit by a crane and emergency personnel entered the area in a search and rescue mode, but were unable to locate the employee.
The sheriff's office said the mining company will build a berm around the blast area and, once it's completed, they will begin pumping the water down and excavate the site.
Sheriff's officials said Stephens was employed by Austin Powder Company, who is a subcontractor for Mid-Coast; he has been on the blast crew for the past 11 years and has been on over 1,000 blasts.
The sheriff's office said representatives from OSHA and The Mining Safety and Health Administration were investigating on the scene.
WFTV
