HUNTINGTON, Ore. (AP) — An Eastern Oregon man died Saturday when the walls of a mining cave collapsed on him.
Senior Trooper Tracy Howard of the Oregon State Police says 42-year-old Jose Aguiar Jr. was digging inside a small cave along the Burnt River in Baker County when the rock and dirt wall gave way.
Two men and a boy with Aguiar were not hurt.
Howard says Aguiar was about 20 feet from the cave’s entrance and the men spent several minutes digging him out.
Unable to call 9-1-1 from the site, they placed him a van and drove 30 miles to Holy Rosary Medical Center in Ontario. He was pronounced dead in the emergency room.
State troopers from the Baker City and Ontario offices are completing the investigation.
