Worker Dies 6 Months After Fall

A worker who was burned severely on May 4 in a tank of hot water at Ponderay Newsprint in Usk, Wash., died Sunday at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

Monty Ralph, 41, suffered second- and third-degree burns over 95 percent of his body and never was able to leave the hospital.

The state Department of Labor and Industries was about to schedule a conference with Ponderay Newsprint officials to wrap up the agency’s investigation of the accident. An agency spokeswomen declined to comment on the findings.

Ralph and four other mechanical maintenance technicians were preparing to remove a pump from the hot-water tank for routine maintenance when a metal plank slipped and Ralph fell into the tank.

, DataTimes