The diamond drill. (Crystal Falls, Iron County, Mich.) 1887-1996, 1913-12-20
FELL A DISTANCE OF
A QUARTER or A MILE
A SKIP LOADED With THREE TONS
or ORE BROKE AWAY AT DUNN
FOUR MEN TRAPPED IN SHAFT
One Wss Killed. Two Injured and the
Other Came Out Without a Mark OF
Any Kind

The hoisting rope on loaded skip
az the Dunn mine broke last Saturday
evening and let the skip with it's three
ton of ore and It's own weight OF two
tons. Eve tons in all-fall TO the bot
tom of the shaft. distanc. OF l, 200
feet.
Four men were at work below the
pentice at the /. 200 IT, level, timber
ing mp the new lift. One of them was
killed, two injured and the fOuth es-
capped without scratch The living
were trapped in for several hours and
IL was not until late Monday tnat the
dead mans remains were got from
nnder the debris that covered them.
The accident occurred about five
o. CLOCK. The skip had been hoisted mp
TO a point where 1t was just entering
the dump when the cable parted at
the engine house, abont 250 feet from
the bail The five ton load shot
down with accelerated rapidity at
each foot. the distance being l.200
feet 20 the bottom. When il struck
il raised havoc with everything
about. The impact ripped the skip TO
pieces and threw the bottom to the
side where the opening lead 10 the
new lift below
At the /, 200 II level a rock pentice
of 25-feet had been lett 10 safeguard
against just such an emergency The
solid rock successfully withstood the
impact. On one side Of this pentice
the opening to the shaft below stretch
&C along its side and at the bottom
OF the 25-feet OF rock this opening
widened out to the full size OF the
shaft. The new lift bad been dropped
distance of 200 feet from the landing
at the |, 200 II level. 1t was complete
with the exception OF the timbering
mp of the skip pit. which work was
being done Saturday afternoon by
Frank Lepisto, Thomas Sarri. Pete
Rucega and Charles .Koskenen. The
work of cutting of the station had
Dunn enced. the drift having been
driven In distance of about twelve
feet. before any attempt was made 10
put in the sump and station timber
The men were working below this
station point Lepisto and Koskenin
were working on planks a few feet be.
low the station and Sarri and Rucega
were down IN the bottom, "a distance OF
about l2-feet below the others.
The impact above scattered debris
Of all kinds down the sh.ft The ore
in the skip was scattered 20 the wind
and a goodly portion Of II went down
the shaft the planking at the side of
the skip pit on the 1, 200 II level, plac-
ed there 10 keep stuff from falling
down the shaft. was ripped ont as If
IL was 80 much straw. A great deal
of tins planking and other material
at the landing went down the shaft
also so that there was continuous
rain of missiles poured down upon the
men below.
Kosksnin was struck and knocked
Oft the pIanks on which he was stand
ing, 10 the bottom OF the pit. Lepisto
and Sarrl were both struck and injur-
ed. but not seriously. Rucega came
through IL all without scratch. The
impact above put ont their lights and
with missiles falling all about them.
the scared men scrambled through the
darkness to the short drift above. Le-
pisto from his plank scaffold and Sarri
and Rucega from the sump below
When all had "gons quiet" they sue.
ceeded in lighting carbide lamp and
took census. Koskenin was absent.
They yelled as loud as their scared
lungs would allow them 10, but no
snwer came so they concluded that he
was under the mass OF debris that
covered the bottom OF the shaft.
Fortunately. the pipe connections
with the pump above were not broken
but the pump had been stopped some
time before and the men were unable
to get up and start the pump again.
The wreckage at the 1. 900 n. station
kept the men from above either gett.
ing down to the pump or commuDica-
ting with the trapped men. Every
man that could be worked was rushed
TO the scene and they worked in relays
at death dealing pace to get the
debris cleared away and learn the fate
of the men below. IL was eight o'clock
before IL was def fnitely known whether
any OF them were alive or not Then
hight was seen and hope grew.