Man killed in mine accident

FOWLER — One man died and another suffered minor injuries in a mine accident Saturday morning at St. Lawrence Zinc Co.

Willard Paul Clewis, 40, of 84 Depot St., Gouverneur, was drilling into a wall on a platform 2,100 feet below ground about 10:30 a.m. when the ceiling above him collapsed. He was pinned beneath a slab of rock that measured 8 feet by 4 feet, state police said.

"We had a fatality and we're coming to grips with that," General Manager Michael J. "Mick" Lawler said. "It's been a number of years since we've had a fatal accident. It's a pretty big shock."

Richard R. Aldridge Jr., 19, also of Gouverneur, was working beside Mr. Clewis and was able to jump to safety and call for help.

Rescue personnel at the Sylvia Road mine freed Mr. Clewis and brought him to the surface, where he was treated by emergency medical technician Jeffrey Gibson of the Gouverneur Volunteer Rescue Squad.

After consulting with Dr. Mary Ellen Gray of Samaritan Medical Center, Watertown, Mr. Gibson administered cardiopulmonary resuscitation and other life-saving measures on Mr. Clewis, stopping at 11:30 a.m. Mr. Clewis was taken to the morgue at E.J. Noble Hospital, Gouverneur.

St. Lawrence County Coroner Russell B. Lawrence III, Canton, ordered an autopsy to be conducted today.

Mr. Aldridge was treated at E.J. Noble for minor injuries and released, state police said. His father, Richard R. Aldridge Sr., said Saturday night that his son was hit by "small stones" in the accident.

"He's doing fine. Nothing was seriously wrong with him," Mr. Aldridge said. "He's a little bit traumatized by it. I mean, he's a 19-year-old kid. He keeps thinking there was something he could have done to stop it, even though they keep telling him there isn't."

Mr. Lawler did not want to confirm Mr. Clewis's identity Saturday afternoon because he said, to his knowledge, not all of the worker's family had been notified of his death. Mr. Lawler also did not offer any more information on what caused the ceiling collapse.

"It's sketchy right now," he said. "We're cooperating in all investigations, and we're in the middle of the process right now."

The Mine Safety and Health and the Occupational Safety and Health administrations were notified of the fatal accident Saturday, state police said.

Mr. Lawler said the accident site is closed off, but work will continue as usual at the mine.

MSHA cited St. Lawrence Zinc with violations a year ago, after an April 6, 2007, accident in which a man lost two fingers.

Richard K. Allen, Antwerp, injured his hand and one of his legs when tons of debris fell on his loading vehicle, pinning him between the loader and the mine walls. He was trapped for more than an hour before rescue workers freed him.

Investigators from the mine division of the U.S. Department of Labor concluded that St. Lawrence Zinc was to blame for the 2007 accident because it didn't provide a stop barrier to prevent Mr. Allen's loader from traveling beneath an open bore hole.

St. Lawrence Zinc is owned by HudBay Materials, Winnipeg, Manitoba.