Second miner found dead after Avery Island salt mine collapse

AVERY ISLAND, LA – AUGUST 21: An aerial view of Avery Island, home of the Tabasco hot sauce factory, on August 21, 2019 in Avery Island, Louisiana. Avery Island, a dome of salt surrounded by marshes near the southern Louisiana coast, is where the iconic Tabasco sauce has been made for the past 150 years. Like much of southern Louisiana, coastal marshland around Avery Island is disappearing at a rapid pace and the island is losing about 30 feet of surrounding protective marshland per year. As land gradually retreats from the area, the island becomes more susceptible to flooding from severe storms. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

by: WGNO Web Desk

Posted: Dec 16, 2020 / 09:48 AM AST

Updated: Dec 16, 2020 / 09:48 AM AST

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AVERY ISLAND, La – Rescue operations at an Avery Island salt mine have ended after crews located the body of the second missing miner last night.

The roof of the salt mine, owned by Cargill Protein and Animal Health, collapsed on December 14. Sixteen miners were able to escape, but two remained stranded.

By the evening of December 15, the bodies of both miners had been located, according to Cargill spokesman Daniel Sullivan.

“Our hearts are broken for our colleagues and their families,” Sullivan said. “To respect their privacy, we will not be sharing further details about the employees at this time. We continue to offer both families support and extend our deepest condolences for their loss. We care about our teammates and have professional grief counselors on site at our facility who will be available to our team as needed. The safety and well-being of our colleagues is our top priority. We are grieving with the community as we face this loss together.”

Sullivan released a statement hours after the collapse saying that the cave in had nothing to do with recent sanctions from the Mine Health and Safety Administration at the site. He said Cargill will continue to work with investigators from the agency to determine the cause of the deadly collapse.