Recovery Mission Resumes For Body Of Man In Medley Silo

MEDLEY (CBSMiami) -- The recovery mission continues for an employee who is presumed to have fallen to his death in a silo roof collapse in Medley.

Pierre Mezidor, 58, of North Miami, fell into the silo filled with tightly-packed cement powder on Friday, August 17th.

Mezidor fell when the metal roof of the silo at Titan America collapsed under him as he measured the level of the dry cement powder. Mezidor dropped at least 140-feet. At first, firefighters rushed to try to rescue Mezidor; by Friday afternoon it was apparent he had been swallowed up by the cement.

Miami-Dade fire rescue crews are on the scene Monday but it's not known if they'll try to enter the silo and recover his body.

Over the weekend, crews brought in a 300-ton crane to remove large debris from inside the silo and help in the recovery efforts.

The crane helped remove duct, pipe, beams, handrails and metal panels from inside the damaged silo, said Department of Labor spokesman Jesse Lawder on Sunday to CBS4 News partner The Miami Herald. The department's Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) is investigating the accident.

Mezidor, who is from Haiti, had been an employee at the plant for 19 years, his family said.

Titan released a statement saying the company leaders "deeply regret the incident and emphasize that employee safety is their primary concern."

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