Rocky Mountain News
SOUTH FORK, Colo. — Eight construction workers were injured Tuesday afternoon when an explosion tore through a home under construction in the southern Colorado town of South Fork.
Paramedics in Flight For Life helicopters transported five of the victims to hospitals around the state and to the metro area, the Rio Grande County Sheriff’s Office said.
The authorities were trying to sort out the extent of the victims’ injuries.
Undersheriff Charles Chick said some of the workers had broken bones, burns, head trauma,cuts and bruises.
Investigators said they believe that the explosion was caused by a combination of fumes and heating fuel that were ignited by space heaters, the sheriff’s office said.
Thirteen workers were building a home in a development called the River Green, which sits on the edge of the Rio Grande Country Club on the eastern part of South Fork, when the explosion occurred, about 1 p.m.
The blast caused the building to collapse, deputies said.
Five of the workers managed to escape injury.
A nearby building sustained minor damage and a satellite dish perched on top of another structure was destroyed, the undersheriff said.
Several ambulance teams initially transported the injured workers to Rio Grande Hospital in Del Norte.
Numerous fire and law enforcement departments from neighboring Alamosa and Mineral counties raced to assist Rio Grande County authorities and the South Fork Police Department.
Other agencies that helped included the State Patrol and the Colorado Division of Wildlife.
South Fork is a town of about 600 residents.
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