RIPPLEMEAD, Va. — Officials in western Virginia say one mine worker was killed and another was injured in a cave-in inside a mine. News outlets report that a Giles County official says the cave-in happened at the Lhoist Chemical Mine Plant in Ripplemead, where limestone is extracted and processed. Jon Butler, county emergency services coordinator, says when authorities arrived, they learned that a berm used to divert water shifted, causing the structure to cave in. Butler says a machine excavator inside the mine capsized when it was “engulfed by material,” trapping the operator in the cab. He says emergency workers found the machine operator was dead. Another worker was treated for chemical burns he suffered while trying to rescue his colleague.
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