Body found at Florida plant more than two weeks after worker was entombed in 200-foot cement silo 

  • Pierre Mezidor was standing atop the silo August 17 at a Florida cement plant, measuring how much was inside when its roof collapsed
  • Rainwater poured into the silo, entombing the father of two in a gooey mush

By Mike Jaccarino and Snejana Farberov

Published: | Updated:


Recovery workers have found human remains on Tuesday inside a cement silo in Medley, Florida, where a plant worker disappeared more than two weeks ago following a roof collapse during Tropical Storm Isaac.

The identity of the victim has not been confirmed, although the only missing employee was 58-year-old Pierre Mezidor, who was standing on the roof when it gave way underneath him.

The father of two plummeted into the towering silo storing tightly-packed cement powder, which quickly filled with rainwater from the approaching storm. 

Macabre: Pictured here is the 200-foot-tall silo into which a worker plunged on Aug. 17 when its roof buckled and collapsed

Macabre: Pictured here is the 200-foot-tall silo into which a worker plunged on Aug. 17 when its roof buckled and collapsed

For more than two weeks, the recovery effort has been led by Miami-Dade police, the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration, and workers hired by Titan America, the company that owns the Pennsuco Plant, according to the Miami Herald.

Pierre Mezidor, a 58-year-old immigrant father of two, was standing atop the silo, measuring the quantity of dry cement inside, when the accident occurred

Pierre Mezidor, a 58-year-old immigrant father of two, was standing atop the silo, measuring the quantity of dry cement inside, when the accident occurred

Attorney Edward Blumberg, who represents Mezidor’s family, hired three structural engineers to investigate the scene in order to determine the cause of the collapse.

‘Something went seriously wrong, but it would be a mistake to say for sure until we have everything squared away,’ Blumberg said. ‘We don’t want to jump to a conclusion until all the dots connect.’

Wind and rain from Isaac slowed an already difficult task to find Mezidor’s body. The storm dumped rain into the silo that was about 70 per cent full of cement.

Police said the remains found inside the silo were taken to the medical examiner's office for an autopsy and identification, Local 10 News reported.

Mezidor's co-workers who witnessed the collapse on August 17 described it as a 'a horribly gruesome event.'

'His son is like collapsing inside,' family friend Yolaine Casimier told Local 10 News outside Mr. Mezidor's Florida homestead.

Mezidor was reportedly standing atop the 200-foot silo located in Medley, Florida, at around 8.30am, measuring the level of dry cement inside, when the roof beneath him  buckled and collapsed.

Along with the piecemeal roof, Mezidor reportedly fell some 140 feet into a silo that one fire official said was only 20 per cent full of dry cement at the time.

Rainwater from Isaac quickly poured into the suddenly-open silo, not quite creating wet concrete, but rather a gooey mush that has bound to debris - and hampered recovery efforts.

'I just look at the situation myself, my head ready to blow and seeing that big thing,' Casimier told Local 10 News.

'From what we see the situation he's not going to come out alive.'

Freakish Accident: The incident occurred at Titan America's Tarmac Cement Plant in Medley, Fla., which manufacturers dry cement

Freakish Accident: The incident occurred at Titan America's Tarmac Cement Plant in Medley, Fla., which manufacturers dry cement

Macabre: The interior of the silo (pictured) quickly filled with rainwater from Hurricane Isaac, entombing Mezidor in a gooey mush from which he is yet to be extracted

Macabre: The interior of the silo (pictured) quickly filled with rainwater from Hurricane Isaac, entombing Mezidor in a gooey mush from which he is yet to be extracted

Mezidor had been working at the Tarmac Cement plant, which is owned by Titan America, for 19 years, according to Local 10 News. His step-daughter has said that he loved his job so much that he would go into work on his days off.

Titan America told The Miami Herald that company officials 'deeply regret the incident and emphasize that employee safety is their primary concern.'


 

'I just look at the situation myself, my head ready to blow and seeing that big thing. From what we see the situation he's not going to come out alive.'

But family members have already hired an attorney in anticipation of filing a civil suit.

'This type of death in and of itself is unspeakable,' Blumberg told The Herald, 'and the family still does not have the closure of having a body.'

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue reportedly lowered sophisticated cameras and listening devices into the silo - devices sensitive enough to hear someone tapping -  but heard no signs of life.

'We have cadaver dogs that detect only dead people and we have live rescue dogs,' MDFR Lt. Arnold Piedrahita told Local 10 News in the day. 'Hopefully, with those dogs we will be able to determine whether this is going to be a recovery operation or continue as a rescue operation.'

A Furious Search: Miami-Dade Fire Rescue has furiously searched for the fallen Mezidor with, among other things, cadaver-sniffing dogs, but to no avail

A Furious Search: Miami-Dade Fire Rescue has furiously searched for the fallen Mezidor with, among other things, cadaver-sniffing dogs, but to no avail

Tireless Worker: Mezidor reportedly loved his job at the plant, for whom he worked for 19 years, that he would come in on his days off

Tireless Worker: Mezidor reportedly loved his job at the plant, for whom he worked for 19 years, that he would come in on his days off

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