Contractor dead after sliding 80+ feet down large pipe while working in northern Michigan
A contractor is dead after they slid over 80 feet down a penstock while working at the Upper Peninsula Power Company's Hoist Dam in Negaunee Township, Michigan, on Friday, according to officials.
A rescue unit with the Marquette County Sheriff's Office responded to the incident around 11 a.m. They extracted a contractor from inside the inclined pipe. The worker died at the scene.
Investigators said two contractors were "applying a coating" inside the pipe when they were notified by at least one air monitor of unsafe conditions. The workers started moving toward the access hatch.
One of the contractors made it to the hatch and the other slid around 85 feet down the pipe, the sheriff's office said. The worker who made it out was taken to the hospital and was in stable condition on Friday evening.
The investigation is ongoing.
"Our deepest condolences go out to the individual's family, friends and colleagues during this difficult time," Dan Freeborn, Upper Peninsula Power Company's manager of communications and external affairs, said in a written statement on Friday.
Freeborn said the company is "fully cooperating" with authorities.
