Man remains in critical condition in burn unit after industrial accident at mine near Moab

Classic Air at the scene where two men died and one was seriously injured at the Intrepid Potash mine near Moab in northern San Juan County, Utah, Nov. 10, 2018 | Photo courtesy of Grand County EMS, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — The man critically injured in an industrial accident at a potash mine in northern San Juan County that killed two other workers Saturday remains in critical condition at a burn unit in Salt Lake City as of Sunday morning.

Satellite image of Intrepid potash mine near Moab, Utah, date unspecified | Photo courtesy of the NASA Earth Observatory, St. George News

At approximately 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Grand County EMS and the Moab Police Department were dispatched to what was initially reported as an explosion at the Intrepid Potash mine. The first officer on scene reported that there were several people with life-threatening injuries.

Classic Air launched a medical helicopter from the company’s Moab base to respond to the facility. EMS supervisors confirmed two workers were dead and the other patient, Arthur Secrest, was in extremely critical condition.

Unconscious but still breathing, Secrest was administered life-sustaining measures by medical personnel until Classic Air arrived to fly him to the University of Utah’s Burn Center for treatment. As of 8 a.m., family reports he remains in critical condition at the burn unit.

After initial investigation, San Juan County Sheriff’s authorities determined the incident was an industrial accident that occurred when equipment the men were working on touched a power line.

Read more: 2 dead, 1 injured in electrocution incident at mine near Moab

In a statement, Grand County EMS thanked all of the responding agencies for their assistance at the scene.

“Sincere gratitude and thanks to the Moab Valley Fire Department, Grand County Sheriff’s Office, San Juan County Sheriff’s Office, Classic Air Medical, first responders from Intrepid Potash, and the Moab City Police Department who all responded and helped in the treatment of those injured.”

A statement released by Intrepid Potash said a “corporate crisis management team has contacted the appropriate authorities and the cause of the accident is currently under investigation. Operations at the Moab facility have been suspended pending the initial investigation.”

The Intrepid Potash mine is in an area that contains up to 2 billion tons of potash, an ingredient used to make fertlizer.

This is a developing story.

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2018, all rights reserved.

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