It was a routine the three men experienced numerous times. Just before 10:45 a.m. Friday, they climbed into a steel bucket and began their journey 500 feet underground near Lyles Station, Indiana.
The cup-like bucket that held them was about 6 feet tall and could fit up to 10 people. The slow ride underground normally took about five minutes.
But something went wrong. The bucket, secured by a wire rope to a hoisting mechanism on the surface, tipped — officials said it was "upset from its true vertical hanging."
The three men fell out — plunging the equivalent of 50 stories to their deaths — as seven of their colleagues worked below them in the shaft. It was the second U.S. mine disaster this week.
Federal and state investigators now will try to determine what happened at the Gibson County Coal mine site, located between Princeton, Ind., and Mount Carmel, Ill., near the intersection of Indiana 64 and Indiana 65.
The men were all employees of Frontier-Kemper Constructors, Inc., which had been wrapping up work on a new shaft into the coal mine. The shaft was nearly complete, but was not yet connected to the mine.
"Not only were these gentlemen co-workers, they were very close personal friends," said George Zugel, Fontier-Kemper's director of safety and health. "None of us have been down this path prior to today."
In a statement, Frontier-Kemper said: "We are deeply saddened by these accidental deaths. We are cooperating fully with MSHA, state and local officials as they investigate the accident to determine its cause.
"On behalf of the company and all its employees, we extend our heartfelt condolences to their families and co-workers."
Also, the United Mine Workers of America International President Cecil E. Roberts, who visited Princeton earlier this year in support of a strike at an Illinois mine, issued the following statement:
"The successive mine site disasters taking place this week have captured the sympathy and support of the American people, just as they responded to the terrible accidents of early 2006, and serve as stark reminders that safety concerns must always be made the highest priority in this often hazardous line of work."
The mine is owned by Tulsa, Okla.-based Alliance Resource Partners, which operates the mine through Gibson County Coal.
The mine began production in November 2000 and has continuous mining units employing room-and-pillar mining techniques. The preparation plant has a throughput capacity of 700 tons of raw coal an hour.
In early June 2000, the Gibson County Coal mine experienced an underground mine explosion, which injured three workers. The explosion occurred during the construction of the underground mine on Lyles Station Road, northwest of Princeton, Ind.
A crew was sinking a new mine shaft and an air drill struck an unexploded charge, detonating it, according to reports.
Whitcomb said at the time Gunther-Nash Mining Construction Co. failed to make a thorough search to determine if there were any misfires from a previous day's blasting.
The workers were about 200 feet underground, digging a new shaft, when that accident occurred.
A Friday night dinner at Evansville's Executive Inn was supposed to serve as a festive occasion to mark the 30th anniversary of Frontier-Kemper Constructors.
Instead, the event turned into a night to honor and remember the three men who died earlier that day after falling down a nearly completed mine ventilation shaft in Gibson County.
The men — who plunged 500 feet into the shaft after they fell out of the bucket carrying them — included one of the company's founders and a young man whose father died 18 years ago in an underground mine explosion near Wheatcroft, Ky.
The founder, Daniel McFadden, 66, had retired in 1995 to a ranch in Greybull, Wyo., a family spokeswoman said. He made the trip to the construction site Friday near Princeton, Ind., to tour the work crew's progress as part of the company's celebration.
McFadden is a native of Mount Vernon, Ind., and in 1965, founded Frontier Constructors in Evergreen, Colo. The company merged with Kemper Constructors in Evansville in 1977.
Near McFadden in the bucket was Jarred A. Ashmore, 23, of Henderson, Ky., the son of a man who died more than 1,000 feet underground in 1989 during a methane-fueled flash fire at Pyro Mining in Webster County, Ky. Along with Ashmore's 31-year-old father, Lynn, the fire killed nine others.
Ashmore was a 2006 graduate of the University of Evansville. He received a degree in civil engineering and was a project engineer for Frontier-Kemper. Ashmore was to be married in May.
Gibson County Coroner Rick Hickrod identified the third victim as Christopher Todd Richardson, 38, of Cedar Bluff, Va. His funeral will be in Cedar Bluff, where he grew up and his family lives.
As family members and colleagues mourned the deaths Saturday, the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration was at the construction site to begin its investigation.
MSHA released a statement Saturday saying it was conducting a "full investigation" into Friday's events.
There appeared to be little or no activity Saturday afternoon at the ill-fated shaft. Gibson County authorities faced several challenges in their efforts Saturday to identify the men.
According to state law, authorities must rely on DNA samples, fingerprints or dental records if a family member cannot identify a body.
The new requirements were put in place after two Taylor University students involved in a crash — one dead, the other in a coma — were misidentified last year.
"Probably, this is the most perplexing case because of the burden of proof on me," said Hickrod, who has been with the coroner's office for 31 years.
Hickrod said that by Saturday afternoon, one family had positively identified their loved one, another family was on their way to the Vanderburgh County coroner's office, and investigators would have to rely on fingerprints and other information to identify the third man.
"The new law makes it difficult," Hickrod said. "I have nothing to compare the fingerprints to."
None of the men's fingerprints were available through criminal databases, the coroner said.
Hickrod added that he had taken a statement from the hoist operator at the shaft construction site who described what the men were wearing.
Dr. Joseph Czaja conducted the autopsies and finished the four-hour procedure by midafternoon.
The pathologist, from Fishers, Ind., does most of his work in Hamilton County. He was called in Friday night since no certified pathologist from Vanderburgh County was available.
Frontier-Kemper was finishing work on the new shaft for the Gibson County Coal Mine when the men fell. The mine is owned by Tulsa-based Alliance Resource Partners.
The cup-like bucket that held them was about 6 feet tall and could fit up to 10 people. The slow ride underground normally took about five minutes.
But something went wrong. The bucket, secured by a wire rope to a hoisting mechanism on the surface, tipped — officials said it was "upset from its true vertical hanging."
The three men fell out — plunging the equivalent of 50 stories to their deaths — as seven of their colleagues worked below them in the shaft. It was the second U.S. mine disaster this week.
Federal and state investigators now will try to determine what happened at the Gibson County Coal mine site, located between Princeton, Ind., and Mount Carmel, Ill., near the intersection of Indiana 64 and Indiana 65.
The men were all employees of Frontier-Kemper Constructors, Inc., which had been wrapping up work on a new shaft into the coal mine. The shaft was nearly complete, but was not yet connected to the mine.
"Not only were these gentlemen co-workers, they were very close personal friends," said George Zugel, Fontier-Kemper's director of safety and health. "None of us have been down this path prior to today."
In a statement, Frontier-Kemper said: "We are deeply saddened by these accidental deaths. We are cooperating fully with MSHA, state and local officials as they investigate the accident to determine its cause.
"On behalf of the company and all its employees, we extend our heartfelt condolences to their families and co-workers."
Also, the United Mine Workers of America International President Cecil E. Roberts, who visited Princeton earlier this year in support of a strike at an Illinois mine, issued the following statement:
"The successive mine site disasters taking place this week have captured the sympathy and support of the American people, just as they responded to the terrible accidents of early 2006, and serve as stark reminders that safety concerns must always be made the highest priority in this often hazardous line of work."
The mine is owned by Tulsa, Okla.-based Alliance Resource Partners, which operates the mine through Gibson County Coal.
The mine began production in November 2000 and has continuous mining units employing room-and-pillar mining techniques. The preparation plant has a throughput capacity of 700 tons of raw coal an hour.
In early June 2000, the Gibson County Coal mine experienced an underground mine explosion, which injured three workers. The explosion occurred during the construction of the underground mine on Lyles Station Road, northwest of Princeton, Ind.
A crew was sinking a new mine shaft and an air drill struck an unexploded charge, detonating it, according to reports.
Whitcomb said at the time Gunther-Nash Mining Construction Co. failed to make a thorough search to determine if there were any misfires from a previous day's blasting.
The workers were about 200 feet underground, digging a new shaft, when that accident occurred.
A Friday night dinner at Evansville's Executive Inn was supposed to serve as a festive occasion to mark the 30th anniversary of Frontier-Kemper Constructors.
Instead, the event turned into a night to honor and remember the three men who died earlier that day after falling down a nearly completed mine ventilation shaft in Gibson County.
The men — who plunged 500 feet into the shaft after they fell out of the bucket carrying them — included one of the company's founders and a young man whose father died 18 years ago in an underground mine explosion near Wheatcroft, Ky.
The founder, Daniel McFadden, 66, had retired in 1995 to a ranch in Greybull, Wyo., a family spokeswoman said. He made the trip to the construction site Friday near Princeton, Ind., to tour the work crew's progress as part of the company's celebration.
McFadden is a native of Mount Vernon, Ind., and in 1965, founded Frontier Constructors in Evergreen, Colo. The company merged with Kemper Constructors in Evansville in 1977.
Near McFadden in the bucket was Jarred A. Ashmore, 23, of Henderson, Ky., the son of a man who died more than 1,000 feet underground in 1989 during a methane-fueled flash fire at Pyro Mining in Webster County, Ky. Along with Ashmore's 31-year-old father, Lynn, the fire killed nine others.
Ashmore was a 2006 graduate of the University of Evansville. He received a degree in civil engineering and was a project engineer for Frontier-Kemper. Ashmore was to be married in May.
Gibson County Coroner Rick Hickrod identified the third victim as Christopher Todd Richardson, 38, of Cedar Bluff, Va. His funeral will be in Cedar Bluff, where he grew up and his family lives.
As family members and colleagues mourned the deaths Saturday, the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration was at the construction site to begin its investigation.
MSHA released a statement Saturday saying it was conducting a "full investigation" into Friday's events.
There appeared to be little or no activity Saturday afternoon at the ill-fated shaft. Gibson County authorities faced several challenges in their efforts Saturday to identify the men.
According to state law, authorities must rely on DNA samples, fingerprints or dental records if a family member cannot identify a body.
The new requirements were put in place after two Taylor University students involved in a crash — one dead, the other in a coma — were misidentified last year.
"Probably, this is the most perplexing case because of the burden of proof on me," said Hickrod, who has been with the coroner's office for 31 years.
Hickrod said that by Saturday afternoon, one family had positively identified their loved one, another family was on their way to the Vanderburgh County coroner's office, and investigators would have to rely on fingerprints and other information to identify the third man.
"The new law makes it difficult," Hickrod said. "I have nothing to compare the fingerprints to."
None of the men's fingerprints were available through criminal databases, the coroner said.
Hickrod added that he had taken a statement from the hoist operator at the shaft construction site who described what the men were wearing.
Dr. Joseph Czaja conducted the autopsies and finished the four-hour procedure by midafternoon.
The pathologist, from Fishers, Ind., does most of his work in Hamilton County. He was called in Friday night since no certified pathologist from Vanderburgh County was available.
Frontier-Kemper was finishing work on the new shaft for the Gibson County Coal Mine when the men fell. The mine is owned by Tulsa-based Alliance Resource Partners.
It was a routine the three men experienced numerous times. Just before 10:45 a.m. Friday, they climbed into a steel bucket and began their journey 500 feet underground near Lyles Station, Indiana.
The cup-like bucket that held them was about 6 feet tall and could fit up to 10 people. The slow ride underground normally took about five minutes.
But something went wrong. The bucket, secured by a wire rope to a hoisting mechanism on the surface, tipped — officials said it was "upset from its true vertical hanging."
The three men fell out — plunging the equivalent of 50 stories to their deaths — as seven of their colleagues worked below them in the shaft. It was the second U.S. mine disaster this week.
Federal and state investigators now will try to determine what happened at the Gibson County Coal mine site, located between Princeton, Ind., and Mount Carmel, Ill., near the intersection of Indiana 64 and Indiana 65.
The men were all employees of Frontier-Kemper Constructors, Inc., which had been wrapping up work on a new shaft into the coal mine. The shaft was nearly complete, but was not yet connected to the mine.
"Not only were these gentlemen co-workers, they were very close personal friends," said George Zugel, Fontier-Kemper's director of safety and health. "None of us have been down this path prior to today."
In a statement, Frontier-Kemper said: "We are deeply saddened by these accidental deaths. We are cooperating fully with MSHA, state and local officials as they investigate the accident to determine its cause.
"On behalf of the company and all its employees, we extend our heartfelt condolences to their families and co-workers."
Also, the United Mine Workers of America International President Cecil E. Roberts, who visited Princeton earlier this year in support of a strike at an Illinois mine, issued the following statement:
"The successive mine site disasters taking place this week have captured the sympathy and support of the American people, just as they responded to the terrible accidents of early 2006, and serve as stark reminders that safety concerns must always be made the highest priority in this often hazardous line of work."
The mine is owned by Tulsa, Okla.-based Alliance Resource Partners, which operates the mine through Gibson County Coal.
The mine began production in November 2000 and has continuous mining units employing room-and-pillar mining techniques. The preparation plant has a throughput capacity of 700 tons of raw coal an hour.
In early June 2000, the Gibson County Coal mine experienced an underground mine explosion, which injured three workers. The explosion occurred during the construction of the underground mine on Lyles Station Road, northwest of Princeton, Ind.
A crew was sinking a new mine shaft and an air drill struck an unexploded charge, detonating it, according to reports.
Whitcomb said at the time Gunther-Nash Mining Construction Co. failed to make a thorough search to determine if there were any misfires from a previous day's blasting.
The workers were about 200 feet underground, digging a new shaft, when that accident occurred.
A Friday night dinner at Evansville's Executive Inn was supposed to serve as a festive occasion to mark the 30th anniversary of Frontier-Kemper Constructors.
Instead, the event turned into a night to honor and remember the three men who died earlier that day after falling down a nearly completed mine ventilation shaft in Gibson County.
The men — who plunged 500 feet into the shaft after they fell out of the bucket carrying them — included one of the company's founders and a young man whose father died 18 years ago in an underground mine explosion near Wheatcroft, Ky.
The founder, Daniel McFadden, 66, had retired in 1995 to a ranch in Greybull, Wyo., a family spokeswoman said. He made the trip to the construction site Friday near Princeton, Ind., to tour the work crew's progress as part of the company's celebration.
McFadden is a native of Mount Vernon, Ind., and in 1965, founded Frontier Constructors in Evergreen, Colo. The company merged with Kemper Constructors in Evansville in 1977.
Near McFadden in the bucket was Jarred A. Ashmore, 23, of Henderson, Ky., the son of a man who died more than 1,000 feet underground in 1989 during a methane-fueled flash fire at Pyro Mining in Webster County, Ky. Along with Ashmore's 31-year-old father, Lynn, the fire killed nine others.
Ashmore was a 2006 graduate of the University of Evansville. He received a degree in civil engineering and was a project engineer for Frontier-Kemper. Ashmore was to be married in May.
Gibson County Coroner Rick Hickrod identified the third victim as Christopher Todd Richardson, 38, of Cedar Bluff, Va. His funeral will be in Cedar Bluff, where he grew up and his family lives.
As family members and colleagues mourned the deaths Saturday, the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration was at the construction site to begin its investigation.
MSHA released a statement Saturday saying it was conducting a "full investigation" into Friday's events.
There appeared to be little or no activity Saturday afternoon at the ill-fated shaft. Gibson County authorities faced several challenges in their efforts Saturday to identify the men.
According to state law, authorities must rely on DNA samples, fingerprints or dental records if a family member cannot identify a body.
The new requirements were put in place after two Taylor University students involved in a crash — one dead, the other in a coma — were misidentified last year.
"Probably, this is the most perplexing case because of the burden of proof on me," said Hickrod, who has been with the coroner's office for 31 years.
Hickrod said that by Saturday afternoon, one family had positively identified their loved one, another family was on their way to the Vanderburgh County coroner's office, and investigators would have to rely on fingerprints and other information to identify the third man.
"The new law makes it difficult," Hickrod said. "I have nothing to compare the fingerprints to."
None of the men's fingerprints were available through criminal databases, the coroner said.
Hickrod added that he had taken a statement from the hoist operator at the shaft construction site who described what the men were wearing.
Dr. Joseph Czaja conducted the autopsies and finished the four-hour procedure by midafternoon.
The pathologist, from Fishers, Ind., does most of his work in Hamilton County. He was called in Friday night since no certified pathologist from Vanderburgh County was available.
Frontier-Kemper was finishing work on the new shaft for the Gibson County Coal Mine when the men fell. The mine is owned by Tulsa-based Alliance Resource Partners.
The cup-like bucket that held them was about 6 feet tall and could fit up to 10 people. The slow ride underground normally took about five minutes.
But something went wrong. The bucket, secured by a wire rope to a hoisting mechanism on the surface, tipped — officials said it was "upset from its true vertical hanging."
The three men fell out — plunging the equivalent of 50 stories to their deaths — as seven of their colleagues worked below them in the shaft. It was the second U.S. mine disaster this week.
Federal and state investigators now will try to determine what happened at the Gibson County Coal mine site, located between Princeton, Ind., and Mount Carmel, Ill., near the intersection of Indiana 64 and Indiana 65.
The men were all employees of Frontier-Kemper Constructors, Inc., which had been wrapping up work on a new shaft into the coal mine. The shaft was nearly complete, but was not yet connected to the mine.
"Not only were these gentlemen co-workers, they were very close personal friends," said George Zugel, Fontier-Kemper's director of safety and health. "None of us have been down this path prior to today."
In a statement, Frontier-Kemper said: "We are deeply saddened by these accidental deaths. We are cooperating fully with MSHA, state and local officials as they investigate the accident to determine its cause.
"On behalf of the company and all its employees, we extend our heartfelt condolences to their families and co-workers."
Also, the United Mine Workers of America International President Cecil E. Roberts, who visited Princeton earlier this year in support of a strike at an Illinois mine, issued the following statement:
"The successive mine site disasters taking place this week have captured the sympathy and support of the American people, just as they responded to the terrible accidents of early 2006, and serve as stark reminders that safety concerns must always be made the highest priority in this often hazardous line of work."
The mine is owned by Tulsa, Okla.-based Alliance Resource Partners, which operates the mine through Gibson County Coal.
The mine began production in November 2000 and has continuous mining units employing room-and-pillar mining techniques. The preparation plant has a throughput capacity of 700 tons of raw coal an hour.
In early June 2000, the Gibson County Coal mine experienced an underground mine explosion, which injured three workers. The explosion occurred during the construction of the underground mine on Lyles Station Road, northwest of Princeton, Ind.
A crew was sinking a new mine shaft and an air drill struck an unexploded charge, detonating it, according to reports.
Whitcomb said at the time Gunther-Nash Mining Construction Co. failed to make a thorough search to determine if there were any misfires from a previous day's blasting.
The workers were about 200 feet underground, digging a new shaft, when that accident occurred.
A Friday night dinner at Evansville's Executive Inn was supposed to serve as a festive occasion to mark the 30th anniversary of Frontier-Kemper Constructors.
Instead, the event turned into a night to honor and remember the three men who died earlier that day after falling down a nearly completed mine ventilation shaft in Gibson County.
The men — who plunged 500 feet into the shaft after they fell out of the bucket carrying them — included one of the company's founders and a young man whose father died 18 years ago in an underground mine explosion near Wheatcroft, Ky.
The founder, Daniel McFadden, 66, had retired in 1995 to a ranch in Greybull, Wyo., a family spokeswoman said. He made the trip to the construction site Friday near Princeton, Ind., to tour the work crew's progress as part of the company's celebration.
McFadden is a native of Mount Vernon, Ind., and in 1965, founded Frontier Constructors in Evergreen, Colo. The company merged with Kemper Constructors in Evansville in 1977.
Near McFadden in the bucket was Jarred A. Ashmore, 23, of Henderson, Ky., the son of a man who died more than 1,000 feet underground in 1989 during a methane-fueled flash fire at Pyro Mining in Webster County, Ky. Along with Ashmore's 31-year-old father, Lynn, the fire killed nine others.
Ashmore was a 2006 graduate of the University of Evansville. He received a degree in civil engineering and was a project engineer for Frontier-Kemper. Ashmore was to be married in May.
Gibson County Coroner Rick Hickrod identified the third victim as Christopher Todd Richardson, 38, of Cedar Bluff, Va. His funeral will be in Cedar Bluff, where he grew up and his family lives.
As family members and colleagues mourned the deaths Saturday, the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration was at the construction site to begin its investigation.
MSHA released a statement Saturday saying it was conducting a "full investigation" into Friday's events.
There appeared to be little or no activity Saturday afternoon at the ill-fated shaft. Gibson County authorities faced several challenges in their efforts Saturday to identify the men.
According to state law, authorities must rely on DNA samples, fingerprints or dental records if a family member cannot identify a body.
The new requirements were put in place after two Taylor University students involved in a crash — one dead, the other in a coma — were misidentified last year.
"Probably, this is the most perplexing case because of the burden of proof on me," said Hickrod, who has been with the coroner's office for 31 years.
Hickrod said that by Saturday afternoon, one family had positively identified their loved one, another family was on their way to the Vanderburgh County coroner's office, and investigators would have to rely on fingerprints and other information to identify the third man.
"The new law makes it difficult," Hickrod said. "I have nothing to compare the fingerprints to."
None of the men's fingerprints were available through criminal databases, the coroner said.
Hickrod added that he had taken a statement from the hoist operator at the shaft construction site who described what the men were wearing.
Dr. Joseph Czaja conducted the autopsies and finished the four-hour procedure by midafternoon.
The pathologist, from Fishers, Ind., does most of his work in Hamilton County. He was called in Friday night since no certified pathologist from Vanderburgh County was available.
Frontier-Kemper was finishing work on the new shaft for the Gibson County Coal Mine when the men fell. The mine is owned by Tulsa-based Alliance Resource Partners.
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