Daily Press Senior Writer
SOMERSET, Colo. — Workers at the Elk Creek Mine in rural Gunnison County are mourning the loss of a young colleague, who died in a work-related accident there Saturday afternoon.
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"He wasn't up close to the operation, but was getting supplies. He parked his equipment and was going to loosen the screen to get it on the equipment and carry it. The screen released outward and hit him," Cooper said.
The bundle was attached to the mine wall with a metal band, which Garcia apparently cut, a news release furnished by Cooper indicated.
A safety engineer who was conducting a routine check spotted Garcia 15 minutes after he'd left his work crew. Emergency aid was rendered immediately and Garcia was taken to Delta County Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Cooper said the safety engineer hadn't been specifically seeking Garcia, who was not overdue from his job site.
"Fifteen minutes wasn't enough for him to get the job done. They wouldn't have been expecting him back (from the task)."
The coal mine was reeling from Garcia's death. Cooper said the man's wife and two children were the company's primary concern. "It's been difficult. The crew that was working with him has problems dealing with it.'"
The mine, privately owned by Oxbow Mining, LLC, was assisting the family, said Cooper, who met with family members at the hospital Saturday.
"We're going to continue to be there. That is the major concern. We are a private company and we look at all our employees very valuably. Our loss cannot compare to theirs (the Garcia family). We're going to do the best we can by them."
Garcia had prior mining experience and had just begun working at the Elk Creek Mine in Somerset last September.
"We considered him a very valuable employee," Cooper said. "We were very pleased to have him."
He said Garcia's death was the first fatality at the Elk Creek Mine, though not the first on the property where Elk Creek is located.
The accident was reported to the Mine Safety Health Association, which is responsible for enforcing federal mining laws. Cooper said MSHA representatives arrived Saturday and left the scene Tuesday. They have 45 days to complete a report on the incident.
Garcia's funeral services were set for Saturday at Delta's First Assembly of God Church.
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