Kern County Obituaries

Mark Durant

Submitted by Don Stowell; 13 Feb 2008

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Source Unknown; 2 Jan 1941

Muroc Worker Suffocate In Silt
Despite the frantic efforts of two fellow workmen to extricate him, Mark Durant, 
42, employee of the Mojave Silt Corporation, was killed by suffocation when 
tons of silt fell around him while digging, in a 22-foot pit at Muroc Dry Lake on 
Thursday afternoon.
Mr. Durant might have been saved had it not been for the approach of a heavy 
freight train which caused vibration sending tons of the silt down into the hole. 
Upon hearing the approach of the train one of the workman ran down the track 
and attempted to flag the train but was unsuccessful in stopping it until after the 
cave-in occurred, which buried the victim alive. Despite the efforts of the crew 
who vainly sought to extricate him by fastening a rope around his waist, they 
were unable to pull him ~out before the walls of the hopper hole gave way. 
They continued digging but by the time they reached Mr. Durant's body, he was 
dead.
Sheriff's Deputy Walter Muller and Constable George Hodges who accompanied 
the ambulance from the Mojave Funeral Chapel investigated the accident. The 
deceased is survived by his widow, Mrs. Edith Durant and several other relatives.	
Funeral services were held Monday under the direction of the Mojave Funeral 
Chapel and. Interment was at Mojave cemetery.