EBRPD: Worker Critically Injured After Rock Fall at Black Diamond Mines

At roughly 10:53 am Tuesday, a contract worker with the East Bay Regional Park District was injured after a piece of rock fell on him inside the Black Diamond Mines in Antioch and required a “confined space” rescue operation.

According to Carolyne Jones, East Bay Regional Park District spokesperson, an adult male miner who was doing stabilization work with pillars when a large chunk of rock fell on him and push him over the railing and suffered back and chest injuries.

“His fellow workers brought him out on a backboard where paramedics took him to the paramedics who then transported him to a helicopter spot to be airlifted to a local hospital,” said Jones.

According to radio traffic, Contra Costa County Fire Protection District stated the man’s injuries were critical around 11:20 am and requested a medical helicopter. Upon arriving on scene, they stated the response was no longer a “confined space” rescue.

Robert Marshall, CONFIRE spokesperson said, “we thought we were going to rescue him out of the mine, but the team in there already had the ability to do that and evacuated him to the opening of the mine where we took over. We transported him to the landing zone at James Donlon and Somersville.”

Jones confirmed the mans injuries were considered critical and says the incident occurred 200 feet into the Hazel-Atlas Mine.

“He wasn’t alone, there were a lot of other contractors in there with him,” said Jones. “This is a really unfortunate accident and our hearts go out to this worker and wish him well in his recovery. Safety is a huge concern to us in these old historic sites and thankful so many people around him were competent

in getting him to safety quickly and we are hoping for his quick recovery.”

Jones said the Hazel-Atlas mine is an old mine for the Hazel-Atlas Glass Company in Oakland which dates back to the 1940’s and is open to the public for tours and open houses only. Jones says the mine is checked daily by park staff and contractors who look for loose rocks and mine safety issues.

“There is people in there every day whether its park staff or contractors along with safety equipment in the mine,” said Jones. “There are several mines up there including coal mines from the 1800’s and sand mines which are newer. There are probably more than 100 miles of mining tunnels closed to the public. The park district maintains some of the tunnels for the history and public.”

The Black Diamond Mines teaches people how mining is done, local geography, history of the area and provides a snap shot of how we used to get our energy from coal.