KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — One worker was killed and two others were injured in an accident at an underground zinc mine in Tennessee, authorities said.
The accident occurred Tuesday at Nyrstar’s Immel Mine in Knox County, news media outlets reported. The two injured workers were brought to the surface by mine rescue personnel, then taken to the University of Tennessee Medical Center, said Rural/Metro spokesman Jeff Bagwell.
Bagwell attributed the accident to “some sort of a collapse” in the mine. Neither the names nor the conditions of the workers involved have been released.
Nyrstar officials said the cause of the accident remains unknown. The company said it is cooperating with authorities as it reviews what happened.
“The company extends its deepest sympathies to the family, friends and colleagues of the deceased employee who had worked at the mine for the past 11 years,” the company said in a statement. “Nyrstar is offering counseling and other support to colleagues who have been affected by this tragic incident.”
Nyrstar is a Dutch company with mining and smelting operations in Europe and the United States.
The company has a processing plant and three underground zinc mines in Knox and Jefferson counties.
