Iberia Parish coroner confirms second miner found dead at Avery Island mine
The Iberia Parish Coroner’s Office has confirmed the identity of both miners missing in Monday’s roof collapse at the Cargill Salt Mine in Avery Island.
An email sent Wednesday morning from the Iberia Parish Coroners Office confirmed that Lance Begnaud II, 27, of Brousssard, and Rene Romero Jr., 41, of New Iberia, were killed in the incident.
“On Tuesday evening, the rescue team recovered the second of the two missing miners who was also fatally injured in the accident at our Avery Island mine,” said Daniel Sullivan, media relations director for Cargill Salt. “Our hearts are broken for our colleagues and their families. 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.”
There were 18 employees on shift at the time of the collapse. The other 16 employees were evacuated without any reported injuries.
“We care about our teammates and have professional grief counselors on site at our facility who will be available to our team as needed,” Sullivan said. “The safety and well-being of our colleagues is our top priority. We are grieving with the community as we face this loss together.”
The facility has been shut down while an investigation into the incident is underway. According to Sullivan, the collapse occurred in an established portion of the mine.
“As rescue efforts have concluded, we now focus on completing our investigation in coordination with the Mine Health and Safety Administration to better understand what caused the accident,” Sullivan said. “We are committed to learning from this tragedy and remain unwavering in our dedication to safe operations.”
Shaft and gallery mines, such as the salt mine at Avery Island, report directly to the federal MSHA, part of the U.S. Department of Labor. Unlike surface or injection mines, there are no state or local agencies which monitor or control those sub-surface operations.
According to a Department of Labor spokesman, MSHA was notified of the roof collapse and the ongoing operations to rescue the missing mine employees Monday morning. The spokesman said an MSHA investigation into the collapse is underway.