|
Accident Traps Four Workers 1,800 Feet below Ground
 Over the past 42 years the Nevada Test Site has earned an excellent
safety record. Thousands of workers have completed millions of
accident-free hours at this heavy industry site.
Since 1957 (no accurate records exist for 1951-56) there have been 46
fatalities on the Test Site, and six fatalities at other
Test-Site-related locations.
Being safety conscious and prepared minimizes the impact of the
occasional accident. The events of September 21, 1964 are an example.
Although there was one fatality, cool heads and quick thinking saved the
lives of four others in a dramatic 86-hour rescue effort.
The accident at Yucca Flat took the life of a Reynolds Electrical &
Engineering Co., Inc. (REECo) employee and trapped four others 1,800
feet below ground.
A signal cable being lowered down a metal-cased vertical shaft
48-inches in diameter snapped at about 1,800 feet below ground. James C.
Gray of Indian Springs, who was working on the surface, was fatally
injured. Three other members of the surface crew were hurt.
The four men trapped below ground were unable to leave a small mined
room at the bottom of the shaft when the lower section of the cable,
weighing about 9,000 pounds, fell on top of the elevator cage in a
broken and twisted mass.
The trapped men were Leland Roeder, George R. Cooper, Sr., Art Luhnow,
and Lloyd L. Shaw, all REECo employees.
The accident broke telephone lines to the cavity, but a new line was
lowered down a 16-inch ventilation shaft along with food, beverages,
blankets, and reading material.
Family and close friends of the trapped men were brought to the
accident scene so they could talk to their loved ones.
A crew of approximately 35 men worked around the clock to clear the
twisted and broken cable and hoist it to the surface.
The shaft was finally cleared on September 23, about 86 hours after
the accident occurred. REECo co-workers William Flangas and Frank
Solaegui were lowered to the bottom of the shaft to extract the trapped
miners. The last worker was brought to the surface about five hours
later.
^ TOP ^
|
