One man has died and another was injured following an explosion at a QEP Resources owned oil well near Mandaree on the Fort Berthold Reservation in North Dakota on 13 January 2015. The man who died has been named as Wes Herrman from Conyers, Georgia, the owner of service company Legendary Field Services, and the second man is understood to be an employee of the same company. The men are understood to have been carrying out a routine operation at the time of the incident, removing a tube from the well heater, when fluid in the pipe ignited for some reason, engulfing the men in a fireball. Mr Herrman was air-lifted to the St. Paul Regional Burn Center but died the following day. The incident is being investigated by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
Wes Herrman of Legendary Field Services. Grand Fork Herald.
This is the first oil industry death in North Dakota this year, the most recent incident having occurred on 18 November 2014. However the industry is becoming a cause of rising concern, and since 2010 has accounted for half of all industrial deaths in the state. An oil boom in North Dakota led to tens of thousands of people
migrating in search of work, with many living in trailer parks,
prefabricated barracks-style buildings or even sleeping in tents or
cars.
See also...
Six injured as Tornado hits North Dakota oil workers camp. Six people have been injured, one critically, after a tornado hit a
campsite used by oil workers and their families...
City evacuated after train derailmet causes huge oil explosion. The city of Casselton, North Dakota, has been evacuated after a train
derailment led to a huge oil explosion on Monday 30 December 2013. The
incident happened...
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