Crews Seek to Remove Five Trapped Workers

Oct 03, 04:13 PM

Current Headlines: Emergency personnel worked Wednesday to extract the bodies of five men working underground in a Georgetown, Colo., hydroelectric tunnel that caught fire.

When the fire broke out at the Xcel Energy Co. mine, nine contract workers were applying a corrosion-preventing epoxy coating to the inside of a pipe about 1,000 feet below ground, Xcel said in a statement. It was a routine maintenance procedure.

Four workers were able to escape after the fire broke erupted Tuesday; the remaining five were communicating to rescuers via two-way radios for a time. The five victims were reached by rescue workers who confirmed their deaths.

Clear Creek County Undersheriff Stu Nay said self-contained breathing apparatus was lowered to the five trapped workers, but it's unknown whether they were used.

Nay said two teams were dispatched Wednesday, once it was determined the air quality was safe for the operation to continue.

Xcel Energy Company has been very cooperative with us in this investigation, and helping out in our operations, Nay said.

Investigators from the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration were expected to arrive at the site Wednesday.