Texas men critically burned in gas well fire
LUBBOCK (AP) — Two men critically burned in a West Texas oil field accident didn't know natural gas was leaking around the well and were engulfed by flames after a fireball erupted, authorities said Friday.
The men, who work for Midland-based Basic Energy Services, Inc., an oil field services company, were at the well in a support capacity, Martin County Sheriff John Woodward said. The worst burns were on their faces and hands, he said, and they remained in critical condition at a Lubbock hospital Friday.
"These poor guys, they were in tough shape," Woodward said. "They're holding their own. They got out of there alive. That bumps them up" in their chances to recover.
Ashley Borgstedte, the county's emergency management coordinator, identified the men as Abel Garcia and Fernando Zamora. Both are in their early 30s and live in the area, Woodward said.
Investigators believe the natural gas leaked from equipment around the well, but haven't yet pinpointed the spot, Woodward said.
The gas got sucked into the engine air intake of a vehicle running at the well near Ackerly, about 45 miles northeast of Midland, Borgstedte said. The natural gas vapor ignited and the men were engulfed by flames. The vehicle sustained little damage.
Six others at the scene were not injured. Five workers at the well site heard the hiss of the gas leak and ran from the rig before the gas ignited, Woodward said. A sixth man who worked with Garcia and Zamora fled once he saw the five others run, he said.
A call to Basic Energy was not immediately returned Friday.
The well was owned by Endeavor Energy Resources of Midland, Borgstedte said. A message left with Endeavor's legal adviser Mike Short was not immediately returned Friday.
Elizabeth Todd, a spokeswoman in Dallas for the Department of Labor's Occupational Safety & Health Administration, which has opened an investigation, said she could not comment.
