Contractor working inside ‘unsafe’ pipe slides 85 feet down and dies, MI cops say
A contractor is dead after sliding 85 feet down a pipe at a Michigan dam, deputies say.
Two contractors were working inside a penstock, which is a pipe that controls water flow, at the Upper Peninsula Power Company’s Hoist Dam when they were told that the “conditions were unsafe,” according to an Oct. 3 news release from the Marquette County Sheriff’s Office.
The contractors started moving toward an access hatch, and one was able to reach it, but the other slid about 85 feet down the pipe, deputies said.
A rescue team was called at about 11 a.m. and extracted the contractor from inside the pipe. The contractor was pronounced dead at the scene.
“Our deepest condolences go out to the individual’s family, friends, and colleagues during this difficult time,” Dan Freeborn, Upper Peninsula Power Company manager of communications and external affairs, said in a news release.
UPPCO is cooperating with authorities in the investigation, Freeborn said.
The name of the contractor who died has not been released. The other contractor who made it out was taken to a hospital and is in stable condition.
Hoist Dam is in Negaunee Township, which is about a 285-mile drive north from Milwaukee.
This story was originally published October 6, 2025 at 10:30 AM with the headline "Contractor working inside ‘unsafe’ pipe slides 85 feet down and dies, MI cops say."
