Two killed, one critically injured after accident at potash mine near Moab

POSTED 2:13 PM, NOVEMBER 10, 2018, BY TAYLOR HARTMAN, UPDATED AT 07:19AM, NOVEMBER 11, 2018

Accident at Intrepid Potash near Moab

GRAND COUNTY, Utah — Two people were killed an one was critically injured after being electrocuted at a potash mine in Moab Saturday.

According to a Facebook post made by the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office, just after 12 p.m., three men were electrocuted at the mine when the industrial equipment they were operating touched a power line.

Two of the men, identified by sheriff’s officials as Russell Helquist and Matthew Johnston, died at the scene. The third victim, identified as Arthur Secrest, was found at the scene of the accident unconscious. He was transferred to a medical facility in Salt Lake City via medical helicopter, officials said.

All of the men were living in the Moab area.

“Our heartfelt condolences go out to the family and friends of these good men,” the sheriff’s office said in the post.

Intrepid Potash, a company based in Denver, Colorado, is a fertilizer manufacturer. According to their website, “the company is the largest producer of potassium chloride, also known as muriate of potash, in the United States.”

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 St. George News reported Sunday.

The Moab Intrepid Potash plant is located at Hwy 279, Mine Site Road. The company also has locations in Wendover, Utah, and Carlsbad, New Mexico.

Two dead, one critically injured in Moab industrial accident

By: Amy Joi O’Donoghue
Published: November 10, 2018 2:34 pm
Updated: yesterday

MOAB — Two men were electrocuted Saturday and a third man was critically injured in an industrial accident in Grand County.

The three men were working at the Intrepid potash plant south of Moab in northern San Juan County when the industrial equipment they were operating touched a power line, the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office reported.

The incident occurred just after noon.

Two men, Russell Helquist and Matthew Johnston, were pronounced dead at the scene. The third victim, Arthur Secrest, was found unconscious but breathing, according to the sheriff’s office. Their ages were not released.

Secrest was flown to University of Utah Hospital in Salt Lake City in critical condition, according to Grand County Emergency Medical Services.

All three men were living in the Moab area. No other details were provided about the incident.

‘Our heartfelt condolences go out to the family and friends of these good men,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.

Matt Preston, with Intrepid’s investor relations, said in a statement that the company’s corporate crisis management team contacted authorities and the cause of the accident is under investigation.

“Operations at the Moab facility have been suspended pending the initial investigation. Intrepid expresses its deepest sympathies to the families and friends of those involved,” he said.

Multiple police and fire agencies responded to what was initially reported as an explosion at the plant.

The Grand County Sheriff’s Office, along with the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office, Grand County EMS and Moab Valley Fire Department responded to the incident on state Route 279. Authorities advised people to avoid the area.

Intrepid manufactures fertilizer and is the country’s largest producer of potassium chloride. The Denver-based company operates three solar evaporation mines — two in Utah in Wendover and Moab, and a third in Carlsbad, New Mexico, according to its website.

Potash minerals, which are water-soluble potassium salts, are commonly used as fertilizer and by the chemical industry for various products, including glass, ceramics and soap. Economically viable deposits of these type of minerals are rare, with Grand County being one of the few producers in the state and nation.

According to the Bureau of Land Management, there is an estimated 2 billion tons of potash in the Paradox Basin. Potassium chloride specifically is a white crystal or crystalline powder used in buffer solutions for pH, fertilizer and explosives.

Contributing: Jasen Lee

Thanks for the share, RM.