CRYSTAL SPRINGS (AP) — Rescuers today recovered the body of a second man who disappeared in a landslide at a gravel pit in southern Mississippi earlier this month.

The second body was found around 9:50 p.m. Friday and removed early today, said Mississippi Emergency Management Agency spokesman Ray Coleman. The man’s body was taken to the Copiah County coroner’s office for an autopsy.

The worker was found trapped in the slurry near equipment he had been operating when he and the other man were buried in 10 feet to 12 feet of mud, slush and sluice on June 3.

The body of the first worker was recovered Thursday morning inside a piece of equipment.

MEMA director Lee Smithson has identified the two missing men in a Facebook message as Emmitt Shorter and James “Dee” Hemphill and offered condolences to their families.

MEMA officials in a release today identified the first body recovered as that of Hemphill.

The second employee’s identity will be confirmed by the Copiah County coroner, MEMA officials said.

The two men had been operating heavy equipment for Green Brothers Gravel Company at a pit in Crystal Springs, according to officials from the Mine Safety and Health Administration.

With the oversight of the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration, the “Mississippi Task Force 2” search and rescue team recovered both workers after eight days to bring closure to the families involved in this incident.

“As tragic of an incident that occurred here at Green Brothers Gravel Company, it shows the support and love Mississippians have for one another,” said Copiah County Emergency Management Director Randle Drane.  “The entire Copiah County community will be stronger because of this incident. Both the Copiah County and Mississippi Emergency Management agencies would like to express our condolences and offer our prayers to the families of both workers.”

Dozens of volunteer groups, including the Hopewell Volunteer Fire Department, local churches, the Salvation Army and American Red Cross, gave valuable time and resources during this incident.

MSHA will begin investigating the possible causes of the incident now that recovery efforts are over.

“The first priority was to get the two men out,” MSHA spokeswoman Amy Louviere said. “It’s too early to speculate about what the cause might have been.”

MSHA has cited this particular mine for 26 “significant & substantial” violations since 1993, according to online records. Green Brothers, based in Crystal Springs, also operates other gravel mines.

On June 3 at approximately 11:30 a.m. there was a dam breach above the gravel pit where the men were working which caused a massive landslide. As a result, the men and their equipment were buried in more than 10 feet of thick sludge and slurry.

Green Brothers Company and the MSHA were in control of the recovery operation with support provided by Copiah County and the state as requested through a unified command.

The Mississippi Department of Public Safety implemented the “Mississippi Emergency Access Program” (MEAP) in this incident. The MEAP issued credentials and placards to all organizations needing access to the scene and tracked their entry and exit through mobile software.