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The worker operating an excavator when a rock wall fell on them at a Sterling quarry has been pronounced dead, Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early Jr.’s office announced Thursday.
At around 8 a.m., first responders were called to the quarry at 17 Stone Crest Way where part of the rock wall collapsed, Early’s office said in a statement.
Emergency crews used camera equipment to assess where the rock wall fell and determined “there were no signs of life,” the statement read.
The worker was pronounced dead at 8:39 a.m., but crews continued working to recover the worker’s body.
Representatives with the U.S. Department of Labor Mine Safety and Health Administration are inspecting the site to figure out the safety or “moving forward with retrieval efforts at this time,” Early’s office said.
During an emergency town Select Board meeting, Sterling Police Chief Sean Gaudette said Massachusetts State Police and representatives of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration were also at the site.
Select Board Chair Kirsten Newman and Vice Chair David Smith ordered a cease-and-desist be issued to Onyx Corporation, which operated in the mine for earth removal “until such time that all investigating parties... have come out with a determination and deem the area safe and civil for operation,” Smith said.
First responders from Clinton, Leominster, Barre, Fitchburg, Gardner, Holden and West Boylston came to the aid of Sterling emergency crews at the quarry site.
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