Woman Killed When Wall Collapses During Dismantling

Wed., June 5, 1996

Compiled From Wire Services

A female worker was killed Tuesday when a metal-walled structure collapsed in the course of dismantling the Vaagen Bros. sawmill here so it could be shipped to China.

Details of the accident were sketchy, and authorities declined to identify the victim - a 56-year-old Colville woman - until her relatives were notified.

Ione Marshal Jim Warren said no one else was injured in the accident. A state Department of Labor and Industries investigator was trying to determine the cause.

Colville-based Vaagen Bros. closed the mill last summer, eliminating about 100 jobs. Vaagen planned to auction off the mill equipment last November, but a Chinese company called Global International agreed to buy everything for almost $1 million.

The aging mill in northern Pend Oreille County is to be taken apart piece by piece and reassembled in China. Vaagen Bros. had considered building a more modern mill, but company officials said lack of timber and Canadian competition forced them to abandon their Ione operation.

The company continues to operate one shift each at its Colville and Republic, Wash., mills.

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