Body of worker recovered in W.Va. coal slurry pond
Dec 14, 2012, 11:04 PM
LUMBERPORT, W.Va. (AP) – Search crews have recovered the body of a worker missing since Nov. 30 in a West Virginia coal slurry pond.
Consol Energy spokeswoman Lynn Seay said Friday that the body of 58-year-old Markel J. Koon of Shinnston was found inside the cab of the bulldozer he was driving when an embankment collapsed.
The bulldozer, with Koon inside, was swept into the massive Robinson Run prep plant impoundment near Lumberport, along with two pickups and other men who survived. Lumberport is located about 40 miles southwest of the college town of Morgantown.
Dive teams located the bulldozer and repositioned a pipe with built-in water jets that pushed away the muck so they could see it. During a dive Friday, they cut open the canopy and found the victim.
Koon was a 37-year Consol employee.
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