DENVER (KDVR) — Friday night, officials released the names of the six people who died in what officials have been calling a “dairy accident” in Weld County on Wednesday.
The six people died after a confined space rescue at a dairy in the 32000 block of County Road 18, which is the site of Prospect Valley Dairy. Southeast Weld Fire District crews were sent to a confined space for the rescue operations on Wednesday evening, ultimately recovering six bodies.
The victims’ ages ranged from 17 to 50 years old, and the Weld County Coroner’s Office said that while autopsies have been completed, the cause and manner of the victims’ deaths are pending the results of further testing.
The victims 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
Family members of some of the victims told FOX31 on Friday that Alejandro was Oscar’s father.
On Thursday, the Weld RE-9 School District identified Oscar Espinoza Leos as a student in the district.
“The Weld Re-9 School District is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of a Highland High School student in a tragic confinement incident at a local dairy last night. This tragedy has deeply affected our school district and community,” the district said in a statement.
The district is providing counseling and support services to students and staff, and said that leadership is keeping the student’s family and friends in their thoughts “during this difficult time.”
The coroner’s office said that it is investigating the deaths as possibly being the result of gas exposure in a confined space, but the final cause and manner of death will await autopsy and toxicology results.
Radio traffic from Weld County Fire and EMS revealed that first responders at the scene found a male party passed out in a confined space after a pipe had burst, but another person had been able to get out. The gas led to delays for the first responders as they sought gas masks to enter the building.
Crews then radioed back to dispatch, informing them there were at least five unconscious patients who were about 12 feet down with possible high levels of unknown gases and hydrogen sulfide.
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.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is leading the investigation.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
