Investigators were trying to determine how five workers trapped at least 1,500 feet (457 meters) underground died after surviving an initial chemical fire at a hydroelectric plant, according to The Associated Press. Emergency crews who entered from the bottom of the sloping tunnel to put out the fire discovered the bodies late Tuesday, Clear Creek County undersheriff Stu Nay said. Crews began to remove the workers' bodies Wednesday. Nine contract maintenance workers were in the tunnel when a machine used to coat the inside of the 12-foot-wide (3.7-meter) pipe with epoxy caught fire, Xcel Energy spokeswoman Ethnie Groves said. Xcel refused to release the name of the contractors' employer. Exactly what burned is still under investigation, Xcel spokesman Mark Stutz said Wednesday. The county coroner's office was working Wednesday to identify the workers. Investigators were also trying to determine how they died before emergency workers reached them. Four workers below the fire were able to scramble out of the bottom of the 4,000-foot-long tunnel. All four were treated and released Tuesday, a hopsital spokeswoman said. She did not know the extent of their injuries or their names.
