Search continues in rubble of collapsed Kentucky coal plant for trapped worker

Rescuers continued their frantic search Thursday for a man trapped under rubble of a shuttered coal processing building that collapsed in rural Kentucky, officials said.

When Martin County Judge/Executive Lon Lafferty told reporters that searchers were still working feverishly to find the man alive — after another man was declared dead in the incident — it’d been about 40 hours since the deadly building collapse occurred.

“We haven’t given up hope,” Lafferty said. “It remains a rescue mission.”

Two workers had been removing machinery and preparing the building for demolition when the 11-story structure crumbled at about 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, touching off this ongoing rescue effort to find the men from nearby Pike County, authorities said.

The incident unfolded at the closed Pontiki Preparation Plant, which has long been slated for demolition.

As crews remove debris, other searchers are taking a second look at the broken steel and concrete for possible clues.

Those workers are doing “a secondary search” for any evidence for the last known location of the victim, said Louisville Metro Emergency Services Director Jody Meiman, who leading this search.

“It’s a very methodical process, it’s a very slow process, but it’s a process that has to take place,” Meiman added.

Kentucky Cabinet of Energy and Environment records list the building’s owner as Lexington Coal Company, which got the permit to bring it down on Dec. 4, 2018.

Lexington Coal would be “responsible for reclaiming the mine site, including the demolition of the prep plant, in accordance with its approved state mine permit and all applicable state and federal mining laws,” an Energy and Environment representative said in a statement Wednesday afternoon.

A publicly listed phone number for Lexington Coal in West Virginia appeared to be disconnected on Thursday morning.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.