State police say 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 1 a.m. 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.
The plant in Shippingport, about 35 miles (56 kilometres) northwest of Pittsburgh, is FirstEnergy's largest coal-fired plant. FirstEnergy spokeswoman Stephanie Walton says the plant remains operational.
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