METALINE FALLS, Wash. (AP) A Montana man was killed today in a rock fall, while working underground in a lead and zinc mine in Washington state.

A mine spokesman says 43-year-old Phillip Markhart of Red Lodge was killed while doing underground development work in the Pend Oreille Mine north of Metaline Falls.

General manager Mark Brown says the mine was shut down after the accident and federal and state agencies were notified.

The underground mine about 10 miles south of the Canadian border reopened in January 2004 after being closed since 1977. The accident was the first fatality since the mine reopened.

Mine spokesman David W. Godlewski says the accident remains under investigation.

Markhart was an employee of The Redpath Group, a mine development company that contracts with Teck Cominco American Incorporated, which is headquartered in Spokane, Washington.

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APNP 01-25-07 1918CST | save this article / add to your favorites list