On the morning of Jan. 28 there was an accident at the Nielson Construction yard just north of Huntington. Two workers, Jakob Killian and Mark Mortensen were working to thaw a valve on a water truck. They were using a weed burner to thaw the valve. The propane burner ignited the residue within the water truck and an explosion resulted. The water truck had been used recently to haul waste water from gas wells and reportedly left a methane gas residue on the walls of the water tank.
Killian was thrown approximately 30 feet by the explosion landing on the back of his head and he was burned over 18 percent of his body. He also suffered from head fractures. He was taken to Castleview Hospital and then taken by ambulance to a hospital in Northern Utah where he is expected to make a full recovery. The road through Spanish Fork Canyon was closed just after Killian was taken through. Reports on Friday indicated Killian would soon be moved from intensive care. His face is swollen and bruised, but scarring is expected to be at a minimum reported the doctors.
Mortensen was treated and released later that day at a local medical clinic.
Mortensen was the one who immediately called 911 to report the accident to the Emery County dispatch.
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