DENVER (KDVR) — It’s been about 10 weeks since crews were first called to a dairy operation in Weld County to help with a confined space rescue that claimed six lives, and officials have announced the cause of their deaths.
On Aug. 20, crews responded to the Prospect Valley Dairy in Keenesburg and found that a male party had passed out in a confined space after a pipe had burst, but that another person had been able to get out.
On Thursday, the Weld County Coroner’s Office announced that all six victims’ causes of death will be “the result of hydrogen sulfide gas exposure.” The Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Weld County Sheriff’s Office are still investigating the incident. OSHA said previously that it had six months to complete its investigation, at which point details would be released.
According to radio traffic, crews confirmed after their initial contact with the passed-out patient that there were at least five unconscious patients who were about 12 feet down with possible gas exposure. The crews were delayed in reaching the patients because they had to get gas masks, according to the radio record.
Hydrogen sulfide is a toxic, flammable and colorless gas that has a characteristic rotten-egg odor. It can be lethal in high concentrations, according to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.
A few days after the incident, officials shared the identities of all six people killed. They are:
Jorge Sanchez Pena, 36, of Greeley
Alejandro Espinoza Cruz, 50, of Nunn
Oscar Espinoza Leos, 17, of Nunn
Ricardo Gomez Galvan, 40, of Keenesburg
Noe Montanez Casanas, 32, of Keenesburg
Carlos Espinoza Prado, 29, of Evans
FOX31 learned in August that Alejandro was the father of Oscar and Carlos, and that Oscar was a student in the Weld RE-9 School District. The three family members were among four employed by High Plains Robotics, a dairy service company. Sanchez Pena was also an employee.
A company spokesperson told FOX31 that the incident happened in the dry mechanical room at the dairy.
