Sheriff’s office: 2 electrocuted, 1 injured at potash mine

MOAB, Utah (AP) — Authorities say two workers were electrocuted and a third injured Saturday when industrial equipment at a potash mine in eastern Utah touched a power line.

The San Juan County Sheriff’s Office says Russell Helquist and Matthew Johnston died at the Intrepid Potash facility near Moab and a third man, Arthur Secrest, was flown to an unspecified Salt Lake City hospital after being found unconscious but breathing.

The Sheriff’s Office says all three men lived in nearby Moab.

The sheriff’s office in neighboring Grand County initially reported the incident as an explosion.

Denver-based Intrepid manufactures fertilizer. The company also has mines in Carlsbad, New Mexico, and Wendover, Utah.

Moab is 196 miles (315 kilometers) southeast of Salt Lake City.