UPDATE, 10 a.m. — Martin County Sheriff John Kirk has confirmed to Mountain Top News that one of the men trapped in the building has died. The man’s identity has not yet been released. We are working to bring you more details shortly.

PILGRIM, Ky. — Two men working in the demolition of an abandoned coal mine have been trapped, after an 11-story coal prep plant collapsed on top of them Tuesday evening.

Rescue crews from across Eastern Kentucky are working to find the men, who are believed to be trapped in the rubble of the concrete and steel building, located near the Middle Fork of Wolf Creek.

Martin County Judge-Executive Lon Lafferty issued a state of emergency just before 1:30 a.m. requesting state resources to assist in the rescue effort. Just before 6:30 a.m., Gov. Andy Beshear signed an emergency declaration directing any state resources to the effort.

“Kentucky, keep praying — but the scene is bad and we should be prepared for tough news out of Martin County,” Gov. Beshear said in a subsequent post.

Following the governor’s order, Kentucky Emergency Management released the following statement detailing the help that is arriving:

“Col. Jeremy Slinker, the Director of Kentucky Emergency Management, is on scene and working the incident as part of a unified command with several partner agencies. KYEM Assistant Director of Operations Dustin Heiser is also on scene manning KYEM’s Mobile Command Vehicle. KYEM Area Manager Region 8 Chris Hecker, AM 7 Jason York and AM 5 Marti Burton are also on the scene supporting local search and rescue efforts, along with:

• “Jefferson County Urban Search and Rescue;

• “Lexington Fire Department Special Operations Unit;

• “The National Guard’s Special Tactics Squadron K9 search dog; and

• “The Northern Kentucky Technical Rescue Team.”

KYEM is also sending a mobile command unit and bottled water for first responders.

This is a developing story. Mountain Top News has a reporter on the way to the scene and will bring you further updates, as they happen.

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The residents of one Letcher County community could soon see some relief after being stranded by a bridge collapse earlier this week.

The residents of Perkins Branch in the Jeremiah community of Letcher County will soon have a new temporary road and a river crossing to get into and out of their hollow. More than two dozens families were stranded after the only bridge into and out of Perkins Branch collapsed at some point Tuesday night or Wednesday morning.

Letcher County Judge-Executive Jim Ward said the temporary crossing could be completed as early as tonight (Thursday night).

Ward said the felled bridge had been damaged by floodwaters from February’s flooding event across the region. He added a permanent solution to the bridge collapse is still being considered by state, county and federal officials. No one was reported injured in the collapse of the Perkins Branch bridge.

Ward said between 25 and 30 residences are located in Perkins Branch, which is just off Ky. Route 7, just across the Letcher Elementary School.

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A bridge collapse in Letcher County has left dozens of people stranded in their community.

The bridge crossing Rockhouse Creek at Perkins Branch in Jeremiah community partially collapsed at some point late Tuesday evening or early Wednesday morning. The bridge had been damaged in last month’s flooding, and Letcher County officials were working to get the Perkins Branch bridge, and three others like it, repaired or replaced.

The collapse has now stranded more than two dozen families. Letcher Judge Executive Jim Ward said 25 to 30 homes are located in Perkins Branch.

Missy Eldridge, a resident of Perkins Branch, said her husband found the collapsed bridge when he nearly drove off of it on his way to work just before 4 a.m. Wednesday. She said her teenage son crossed the bridge the night before at about 10:30 p.m. and no new damage was evident.

Both Eldridge and Zennith Ison, another Perkins Branch resident, said they are concerned for the welfare of elderly residents of the community who are unable to leave Perkins Branch or be reached by emergency services in the event of an emergency.

Now, residents of Perkins Branch are waiting for a temporary low-water crossing to be constructed so they can get in and out of their hollow. Ward said it will take at least two days to get the new, temporary crossing constructed.

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A Pike County road is now closed after collapsing.

Ky. 1499, also known as North Levisa Road, began collapsing into the Levisa Fork river Saturday evening, and continued to fail into Sunday, leaving one lane heavily damaged, and the other destroyed. The road is now closed, and is forcing motorists, including school buses traveling to nearby Feds Creek Elementary School, from the Biggs area, to take an hour-long detour toward Kimper and Pikeville.

Ky. 1499 is closed indefinitely.

Officials are discussing how to repair Ky. 1499, but those repairs will likely be time-consuming and expensive, and could require emergency funding from the state. Officials are now asking for patience while the collapse is repaired.

Access to Ky 1499 is restricted from the Biggs Bridge to the Feds Creek Bridge. Transportation Cabinet officials will be posted at the road closure around the clock until further notice.

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UPDATE: The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet now says both lanes of the roadway are compromised and material underneath the road is still moving.

A collapse has closed a Pike County roadway.

Kentucky State Police tell EKB News that 911 calls reported a collapse in the roadway on Route 1499 in the Feds Creek area Saturday evening, and emergency responders verified that the road was breaking off. A photo submitted to EKB News showed that a section of one entire lane had collapsed.

The roadway is now closed just past the turnoff to Feds Creek, for traffic traveling north, toward Grapevine. The roadway is open from Feds Creek to Mouthcard. Travelers are advised to avoid the area and seek alternate routes around the closure. More information will be shared about the collapse once it is released.

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