What happened

An approximately 80-foot-high feeder pile collapsed at Xcel Energy's Comanche Generating Station, engulfing Savage Services coal-yard workers Kyle Bussey, 28, and Phillip Roberts, 36. Contemporary fire-service accounts placed the slide at about 08:20; OSHA's formal accident abstract records approximately 09:00. The men were working roughly 25 to 30 feet up the pile and were later found beneath about 60 feet of coal after a day-long rescue effort. Both died from mechanical asphyxia. A third worker escaped without injury. Police records later showed that the crew had climbed the unstable pile to locate and clear an air pocket obstructing coal flow to the conveyor system below. OSHA found that an active conveyor was drawing coal into feeder D while employees worked on top of the shifting pile, exposing them to a recognized engulfment hazard. The agency cited Savage for failing to protect employees from shifting coal and for inadequate safety procedures and training, recommending that foot access to active surge piles be prohibited. The event caused no reported generating-unit outage but was a fatal failure within the plant's coal-storage and handling system.

When cited sources give different casualty, damage or spill figures for this event, they’re reported side by side above rather than merged into one number. See how confidence levels work.