Two killed after being crushed under 11 slabs of granite in Sterling Heights

STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. (FOX 2) - Two workers were crushed to death when slabs of concrete fell on them at a Sterling Heights granite shop.

The incident happened around 2:45 p.m. on Monday where employees feared one of the workers was killed. It was only after a head count did they discover that two of their employees were killed.

"We have two bodies that are trapped in a situation that is very unstable right now," said Sterling Heights Fire Department Chief Chris Martin. "So we're taking things nice and slow."

Martin called the scene a "workplace tragedy." The business, a stone-granite warehouse located at 7325 19 Mile Road in Sterling Heights has several hundred slabs of granite inside the building, each one weighing a thousand pounds. While two workers were moving the granite, there was a shift in weight and approximately 10 fell on the employees.

Police made calls to other granite companies to aid in recovery efforts.

"We've got some help from some neighboring granite companies to come help with their equipment and moving some slabs out," Martin said. We have some members of the Macomb County Technical Rescue Team that will be here to help us shore and lift things to make sure nobody else gets hurt today."

After employees were interviewed, they were allowed to go home. Martin said a consultation system will be setup for them in case they want to talk to somebody about the incident.

After police and fire departments complete their recovery, OSHA will conduct their own investigation into what happened.