- Two men were killed while working at a power plant in western Pennsylvania
- A pipe ruptured and filled a pit where the workers were with sludge
- Toxic fumes overcame three other workers who were taken to nearby hospitals
Two contractors died after inhaling toxic fumes that also injured several other workers in an underground pit at a western Pennsylvania power plant.
Police said the Enerfab Corp. workers were in a ‘confined, well-type’ area at the Bruce Mansfield Power Station in Beaver County shortly before 1am Wednesday when they removed an elbow joint in a pipe, releasing hydrogen sulfide gas into the air in the confined space.
Police said 34-year-old Kevin Bachner and 42-year-old John Gorchock, both of Pittsburgh, were unable to make it out of the well and died. Three other workers were able to make it to safety and were taken to hospitals.
Emergency responders arrive at the First Energy Bruce Mansfield Plant early Wednesday
Two contractors working on a pipe in an underground pit at the western Pennsylvania power plant were killed when the pipe ruptured, filling the pit with sludge, late Tuesday
Pennsylvania State Police said the workers who died were inside the underground pit while the others who were injured were standing above it, according to WPXI.
Sludge filled the pit, which is between 20 and 50 feet deep. The workers above were overcome by the toxic gas.
The injured workers were flown to Pittsburgh hospitals.
The plant in Shippingport, about 35 miles northwest of Pittsburgh, is FirstEnergy’s largest coal-fired plant. FirstEnergy spokeswoman Stephanie Walton says the plant remains operational.
The plant employs 350 people, which is more than Shippingport’s population of 214.
Bruce Mansfield plant in Shippingport, Pennsylvania, northwest of Pittsburgh (stock image)
Police say four other workers above the pit were overcome by some kind of fumes released by the leak and taken to hospitals