Two killed in Illinois oil well explosion
21 November 2008
2 workers were killed, and 4 others were injured in an oil well explosion west of Crossville in Illinois on the 29th October 2009 at 10am. Workers were fishing equipment out of the well before plugging it, when the blast happened. It appeared that there had been a gas leak and it was somehow ignited. The fire also burnt a section of a nearby bean field.
The fire was not extinguished until after 3pm, through the use of foam application equipment, but the field fire was dealt with much more rapidly.
The area, was however, still considered dangerous for sometime due to the possibility of still leaking gas.
Autopsies were completed on the 30th October 2009, and through the use of dental records and other information provided by family members, the identities of the two killed workers were identified as Samuel Lee Fieber and Ronald Alldredge. The 4 injured workers were taken to hospital via a helicopter and were found to have been burnt badly, with one worker suffering from third-degree burns over 30% of his body and first- and second-degree burns over most of the rest of his body.
This is the second time the well owned by French Creek Oil Co has gone up in flames. The previous fire, approximately 12 years ago, could not be extinguished by the fire department and was left to burn itself out for several days.