Two employees working on a drilling operation near the Ray Nixon Power Plant south of Fountain were fatally electrocuted after an apparatus on their drilling truck struck power lines overhead, according to the Colorado Springs Fire Department.
The company was collecting core samples of soil using a truck that has a “drilling mechanism” on the tail, Colorado Springs Fire Department spokesman Brian Vaughan said.
The mechanism, which Vaughan said was about 20 to 25 feet off the ground, hit a 12,500 volt power line overhead.
“It’s confirmed that it did immediately light the car and surrounding area on fire,” Vaughan said.
When the fire department heard about a vehicle and spreading grass fire, Vaughan said they initially assumed it would be related to soaring temperatures on Thursday but quickly realized they had something else on their hands.
Witnesses told KKTV in Colorado Springs that the truck exploded in flames.
A look at the vehicle fire causing a lot of smoke near the Ray Nixon exit (exit 125) off of I-25. Fire danger is HIGH today across southern Colorado.
— KKTV 11 News (@KKTV11News)
Colorado Springs Police were notified of the incident at the 1400 block of Ray Nixon Road off of Interstate 25 around 9:20 a.m.
