Victim IDs released in coal slide at Colorado power plant

DENVER (AP) — Two men who died after they were buried in a coal slide at a Colorado electricity generating plant last week have been identified.

The Pueblo County Coroner said that Kyle Bussey, 28, of Pueblo and Philip Roberts, 36, of Canon City died in the accident Thursday at the Comanche Generating Station in Pueblo, The Denver Post reports.

The men worked for Utah-based Savage, a contractor for Xcel Energy that operates the plant’s coal yard. Witnesses reported that the accident happened on a feeder pile for the station’s coal-fired power plant, which is Colorado’s largest.

Rescuers found the bodies of the two men buried beneath about 60 feet (18 meters) of coal after a day-long search. The men had been standing about 30 feet (9 meters) up a slope of the pile when the slide occurred, according to the Pueblo Fire Department.

Xcel is working with Savage, local and federal authorities to determine the cause of the accident.