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Three injured, two critically, in Black Thunder crane accident

Workers install a 2.7 million pound crane at the Black Thunder mine near Wright in this frame grab taken from a Star-Tribune video story in April. Video by Dan Cepeda, Star-Tribune.

A 2.7 million pound crane collapsed Saturday at the Black Thunder coal mine near Wright. Photo provided by The Associated Press via the Gillette News-Record.

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Video of crane installation in April

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By DUSTIN BLEIZEFFER
Star-Tribune energy reporter
with wire reports

Monday, June 2, 2008 11:13 AM MDT

(Click here for the Star-Tribune's video story on the installation of the Black Thunder crane in April.)

UPDATE June 2, 2008: Two remain hospitalized. Click here for the story.

GILLETTE -- The world's largest crane in handling capacity collapsed Saturday near Wright, sending three injured people -- two critically -- to hospitals and blocking a rail line at the Black Thunder coal mine.

Federal Mine Safety and Health Administration inspectors and crane company representatives were traveling to the mine, and BNSF Railway crews were expected to clear the tracks by late Saturday.

The names of the injured, who they worked for or what their jobs were wasn't immediately known.

The 2.7 million-pound crane, owned and operated by the Kennewick, Wash.-based Lampson International, was moved to the site in April.

On Saturday, it was moving a 260-foot, 500,000-pound section of tubing over the triple-track main railroad line -- jointly owned by BNSF Railway and Union Pacific -- when the accident occurred at 12:20 p.m., said Fort Worth, Texas-based BNSF Railway spokesman Gus Melonas.

A 70-foot section of the tubing blocked the tracks, and material and debris were also blocking a connection off the main line that serves the Black Thunder and Jacob Ranch mines, Melonas said.

"We did shut down railroad traffic," he said.

The tubing was to enclose a large conveyor over the railroad. The conveyor system will also reach over the Hilight Road to the top of two new coal silos for Black Thunder, which is owned by Arch Coal Inc.

Arch Coal Inc. spokesman Greg Schaefer said the company will assess the damage after crews clear the wreckage.

No railroad or mine personnel were hurt, Melonas and Schaefer said.

Even so, Thunder Basin mine security officer Truman Cavender said he was ordered to call ambulances to the new construction site, which is seven miles from the mine's headquarters.

Two of the injured were described as very critical, said Wright resident and Campbell County Sheriff's Deputy C.T. Akers.

One was taken to the Wyoming Medical Center in Casper, said nursing supervisor Mike Chambers, who did not release any information on the person's identity or the severity of injuries.

Campbell County Memorial Hospital in Gillette was expecting to receive two patients, said nursing supervisor Debbie Rhoades, adding she didn't know how serious their injuries were.

Akers, who arrived at the scene about 15 minutes after hearing of the accident, said the collapse caused extensive damage to the crane.

"It's completely toppled over; it's a mass of blue, twisted metal," he said. "My guess would be that they might be able to salvage the power unit and the tracks, and things like that. But the gantry, that's going to be scrap metal, would be my guess."

A mine spokesman said TIC is the general contractor for the job, and EarthWork Solutions is doing dirt work for the job.

Bill Denning, spokesman for the Mine Safety and Health Administration in Denver, said the mine will be shut down while agency officials conduct an investigation.

Bruce Stemp, director of safety for Lampson International in Washington state, said company representatives were on their way to the scene.

Video of crane installation in April


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There are 35 comment(s)

Comments to this story.

Kobey wrote on Jun 2, 2008 2:06 PM:

" This is to inform you that the first line of this article is incorrect. This is a very large crane but less than half the size of the "Worlds Largest Crane". There have several crane collapses in the news lately but there is no need to exaggerate the truth. "

FullThrottle wrote on Jun 2, 2008 3:09 PM:

" I do not believe anyone is exagerating the truth Kobey. It says worlds largest in "lifting capacity" which this crane was rated at 1,100 tons. So to verify your critique of the article what is the lifting capacity of the "Worlds Largest Crane"?

This is a horrific accident and I am sure the people of the great state of wyoming are all pulling for the injured. "

Dude Hand Me That House wrote on Jun 2, 2008 3:23 PM:

" Why are there so many cranes collapsing these days? Went for years and didn't hear of any. Now I've heard of four in the last month, if you count those in New York that killed several people. Is it fatigued steel, poor assembly, or are they just trying to lift too much at once? We know that the buildings and mines themselves are checked by engineers daily. How often are the engineers checking the crane booms? Talk about a weak link in the safety chain. I'm no engineer, but it seems like that 200-foot long crane arm put together by a west coast truck-driver and hovered above your operation with 500,000 pounds dangling off the end... there's your fallie-downie part right there. "

bigstickguru wrote on Jun 2, 2008 9:25 PM:

" well, fullthrottle...

Deep South Crane has two 2500 ton versa cranes and 3 1500 ton versa cranes, Terex-Demag has produced about 100 CC8800's (1250 ton) Liebherr Cranes has produced several LR11350's (1350 metric tons) Mammoet has 4 Platform TwinRing Cranes (2500 ton) and on, and on. The Lampson is a dated machine to say the least. And to quickly address the genius comment from dudehandmethathouse, crane arm? fallie downie? if you dont understand what you're reading, then do yourself a favor and dont comment. "

craniac wrote on Jun 2, 2008 10:05 PM:

" In response to FullThrottle, there are actually quite a number of cranes with much higher lifting capacities. Demag has recently introduced a 3500 short ton crawler and sold at least a couple, Mammoet in the Netherlands owns a number of cranes of greater capacity, Liebherr has a 1300 ton hydraulic crane as well as a 1500 ton crawler, floating cranes top out at around 14,000 tons capacity, etc., etc.
In regards to Dude Hand Me that House, these size cranes typically are dispatched with preplanning and onsite engineers to verify the erection and lift plans are followed to a "T". West coast truck drivers have little to do with erecting these machines, other than hauling in the pieces. That being said, any number of variables come into play including wind sail (on both the crane structure and load), unknown conditions underfoot, time constraints and the perceived need to stay on schedule, and of course, just plain error on the part of anyone involved, etc.
With all that being said, my heart goes out to the families of the injured. I think the media has found its' latest hot button issue to senstionalize at the expense of these families. I have been involved in the crane business 30 years this August and have been aware of a number of incidents involving cranes. Many times, they result from personnel planning for what they want to happen as opposed to what could happen. Time will tell. "

weasel wrote on Jun 2, 2008 10:11 PM:

" Lampson owns Transilifts up to 2600 tons capacity, I believe. This would be one of the smaller of this type of crane. "

Rick wrote on Jun 3, 2008 10:26 AM:

" This is the worlds largest crane that can MOVE with the load. It has tracks and is capale of moving while loaded, thats what seperates it from stationary cranes. There are cranes that can lift more but not move while doing so. "

cranebabe wrote on Jun 3, 2008 10:49 AM:

" I appreciate all the concern I personally was involved in the crane crash at the miller park with a transilift there and all I have to say is I am having sad feelings for all who are involved right now, In Gods name I pray for the 2 guys in the hospital and the men that where in charge of the project they are the ones that truly are going to suffer! "

Ft. Union wrote on Jun 3, 2008 11:47 AM:

" Bigstickguru, for all your expertise, you didn't do much to prevent this accident. So if you're such a guru, get it figured out. "

Safety guy wrote on Jun 3, 2008 4:05 PM:

" Much of what happens is planning, experience, and quality control of the cranes. Lampson has a great record in safety, and they go a long way to ensure the safety of their workers.

If you watched the documentary on the Miller Park crash, it was the extra force of wind on the internal surface area that caused the center pin to snap.

Best wishes to the guys in the accident. "

Coal Miner wrote on Jun 3, 2008 6:20 PM:

" In true ARCH Coal tradition, the push to hurry a project, or to mine coal ends in another serious accident. When is MSHA or the State Mine Inspectors going to put a stop to the accidents at Black Thunder. Are they waiting for another death? The year started out with a gentleman getting seriously hurt, they took out a bridge over 450, and now this crane accident, is being the worlds largest coal mine really worth hurting these people? I find it interesting in all these cases that nothing really gets done or corrected. Black Thunder continues to get slapped with little fines, they continue to get more leases to mine coal, and they keep putting people in danger. When is it going to stop? Just my thought, I have to comply with the laws of mining, why doesnt Black Thunder? "

coalminer wrote on Jun 3, 2008 8:18 PM:

" when you are the biggest tax payer in the state of Wyoming things tend to go your way. after the bridge went down there have been 2 broken legs and one very severely twisted leg.these people think this is just a part of doing business.the price you pay for mining.they always say its a very high risk job.they should be able to go home evey night and not worry about getting hurt "

Coal Miner wrote on Jun 3, 2008 9:29 PM:

" Its only because ARCH makes it a high risk job. The other mines tend be working safer and are just as productive. NARM (North Antelope Rochelle Mine) is a prime example. They produce more coal than Black Thunder, have just as many employees, pay just as much tax, have a proven safety record, and profit just as much. I guess my point still rests on MSHA and the State Mine Inspectors doing something about Black Thunders Safety record. If there idea is based on hurting people for profit, then its time they change there business practice. Taxpayers pay MSHA and the State to make sure this happens. My last point would be dead and injured miners arent productive citizens. "

FullThrottle wrote on Jun 3, 2008 10:08 PM:

" The Lampson LTL is a 1991 vintage so it is a older machine. This crane has worked at numerous sites within the state without incident. Saftey Guy is correct in that the company does extensive planning and has plenty of experianced workers.

Coal Miner says he has to comply with the mining laws why does'nt Black Thunder. If all the workers in any labor intensive industry followed all the safety rules and processes 100% of the time then human factor incidents would not exist. Did a mine manager take out the bridge on highway 450 or was it an inatentive driver? Did Black Thunder personal have any control over that crane?

Coal Miner it sounds as if you know your job and do it at a professional level. Does everyone you work with do the same? If not then an accident can and will happen.

Accidents happen due to oversight or when people become complacent. On a project of this scale there has to be some part of the process that was overlooked. As with most disasters a simple task that was missed leads to disaster. It will be interesting to see what caused this.

Again I hope the workers injured during the crane collpase are on the road to recovery. "

william k wrote on Jun 4, 2008 10:22 AM:

" This is the seventh transilift to go over that i know about. Worked with two of them for years without incident but they do require a different level of care from the more modern type of heavy lift crane. "

The Big Buzzing Sound wrote on Jun 4, 2008 1:08 PM:

" I'm disappointed that the probe into this is going to take months to complete. Any large company worth its salt should be able to conduct a perfectly good cover-up in just a few weeks. If they can't shred paper any faster than that, they need to put the papers in the coal crusher and get this moving along. "

Les wrote on Jun 4, 2008 3:36 PM:

" Craniac has it right. On the heavy oil project I work on in Canada, every crane is inspected and certified when it arrives at the project. All heavy lifts are calculated and engineered approved and stamped, operators are compentency tested onsite, drug and alcohol testing is done before any can access the site and in the event of even a minor incident d & a testing is done again on those involved. There is not much more people can do. People are people and make mistakes, It is tragic when someone doesn't get to go home after a days work. No blame to be looked for, just more attnetion on the job. "

getbacktowork wrote on Jun 4, 2008 4:30 PM:

" i'm dissapointed so many of you loosers have time to comment about things you don't have any real knowledge about. Most of you are probably state workers...I'm sorry I took the time to read your gibberish. "

Jim wrote on Jun 4, 2008 4:45 PM:

" Any type of forensic engineering takes time, it is the cost of doing it right. Shredding paper won't save the company, the part of the investigation that would uncover negligent behavior in operating the crane should happen quickly. What will take the months is the analysis and finding out what exactly caused the crane to collapse. It's approaching a year since the Minneapolis bridge fell down, and the forensic engineers working on that project still aren't finished with the analysis yet. "

Vision BTU wrote on Jun 4, 2008 5:02 PM:

" Wyoming is the single-largest coal producing state in the country. We produce more coal than the next three coal states combined. We are the undisputed king of coal. So can anyone name a coal company that is actually based in Wyoming? (and don't say Bridger, because they are owned by Warren Buffet in Omaha). Why is it that 35 years into this low-sulphur bituminous play, we do not have a real industry base here? Just the extraction end, benefitting other companies in other states. Sure, we get some wages and some royalty off the current arrangement. That's a start. But I'm talking about taking it to the next level. We're the biggest coal producer. We should be the industry center, like Houton is to Texas oil. Calling our own shots right here. Our own headquarters. Our own banks and research companies. There should be a district of fifty-story buildings in Gillette by now, driving the world coal market. I've got eighty bucks and a set of decent golf clubs. Who's in? "

upkpfan wrote on Jun 4, 2008 8:05 PM:

" What brand of crane is this and what is a translift? "

Joe wrote on Jun 5, 2008 5:12 AM:

" The death toll while this country built the Hover Dam was great. Since that time the issue of worker safty has just begun to influence the work place. Things like this shuold not hapen but sadly they still do. We pay a great price to be an industrial nation, unfortunatly that price can be counted in human life and not in dollars spent by government and big buisnes. When our insatiable desire for more energy decresses our rush to generate more will also fall and industry will have the ability to work safely, Till then it will be the people who suffer, mesured by the lives lost and families affected. "

Flat Earth Clause wrote on Jun 5, 2008 2:05 PM:

" The crane outfit from Washington says the crane fell over because the mine had it set up on dirt. Imagine that. Dirt at a mine. Sounds like the lawyers are already starting their lawyering. "

profit wrote on Jun 6, 2008 12:07 PM:

" This was part of the greater government-industrial conspiracy and it was carried out by Blackwater and supported by KBR. Cheney himself was in the silent black comand and control helicopter on a hotline direct to the Oval Office. "

flounder wrote on Jun 6, 2008 5:00 PM:

" I have it on good authority that is was Bush that gave the coded go order over the secure phone! "

Works at ARCH coal wrote on Jun 7, 2008 5:34 PM:

" I work for ARCH In the pit First off the crane company is contracted, ARCH had nothing to do with the set up of the crene. As far as setting up on dirt It is a coal mine people! If there was cause for alarm setting up on dirt it was the crane company who should have known. Second Production is first it is why we get paid so well, there is always room for improvement in the areas of saftey, But most accidents are operator error, it is human to want to lay blame when things go bad, and say nothing when things are running smooth. We all are happy to be making great money and cashing those bonuses not to mention pretty good benefits. As far as all the crane accidents latley who knows? I feel very bad for the people hurt or killed and pray for them and there family's . Accidents happen at mines it is a high risk job. Be careful out there look out for yourself and others and take nothing for granted, an accident could happen to anyone thats why there called accidents. also all the mines have there share of LTA's ( lost time accident) This year seems to be ARCHE'S turn. If you dont want to work in a high risk job then don't. I for one am happy to be making good money in a time when things are costing so much more. Be safe everyone. "

Big Cranes wrote on Jun 9, 2008 11:30 AM:

" Most of you had very good points, however I see no one here that seems to be a Heavy Lift Supt. or compentanrt person, setting cranes up on Dirt requires a compaction test to measure how much PSF it can withstand before giving, also calculating out how much PSF the crane puts out normal and what it is going to when it is making it's lift, also how much out of level was the crane ( If Any ) and how much was it out of level during the lift, what was the wind speed at the time of lift etc. we are all really good arm chair quarterbacks but I wonder how may of you actually know how to pick up the ball and run with it. "

Anon wrote on Jun 9, 2008 12:46 PM:

" As a person who has worked for mines in Wyoming and very NEAR Black Thunder, I am aware of MANY accidents that have happened out there to include Haul Trucks going over the high walls etc. They aren't the safest mine out here. "

wizard wrote on Jun 10, 2008 5:55 AM:

" Actually, the main cause of the crane collapsing was due to the heavy rains in the area prior to the
accident. Looking at an aerial photo I received, it looked like a small lake under the dunnage. The unstable ground was the exact cause. "

qubert wrote on Jun 11, 2008 11:52 AM:

" Rumor mill has it that TIC gave the dirt work contract to a company that they shouldn't have. Wizard is exactly right what caused this accident. Soil compaction was not adequate. The dirt work company and TIC are going to hang for this one. The crane was apparently sitting in a mud pit. "

Knowsthecranemanagertic wrote on Jun 12, 2008 5:14 PM:

" qubert this crane and the lifts they where doing on this job were completely handled by Lampson. The operators and the lift plans were done by Lampson. TIC has used this very same crane for lifts done at Lysite and at Frontier Refinery in Cheyene. Lampson's engineers designed the crane pad foundation, and of course the finger pointing has started. The crane manager for TIC has over 25 years of experience with cranes. He also had to run for his life because he was on one of the tag lines on the conveyor tube. "

dez... wrote on Jun 12, 2008 7:06 PM:

" cranebabe has already admitted to being personally involved so let's just blame the babe and be done with it... "

Craneguy wrote on Jun 22, 2008 10:12 PM:

" @ Rick

Right above your post Weasel mentioned the Transilift LTL 2600. It has a 2,600t capacity and can move with the load, as can most of the cranes mentioned here.

Transilifts are typically less stable than other heavy cranes, and ore much more at risk through subsiding ground or high wind loads. "

wrote on Aug 20, 2008 10:10 AM:

" qubert. as knowsthecranemanagertic said, TIC did not give the dirt work to anyone. Lampson did. The dirt work contractor is also very dependable. However, I hear that the dirt work contractor was given no specs on how to build the pad except the elevations and make it level. "

YUGANTHA SRIMAL wrote on Jun 26, 2009 1:50 AM:

" hello "

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