By FireRescue1 Staff
ANTARCTICA — Two fire technicians stationed in Antarctica were killed while performing routine maintenance.
The New York Times reported that the fire technicians, who were based out of the McMurdo Station, were performing routine maintenance on a fire-suppression system at a generator building about 60 miles from the station when the incident occurred, according to the National Science Foundation.
A helicopter pilot waiting to take the technicians back to the station became concerned when they did not return on time and hiked to the building, where he found them unconscious.
One of the fire technicians was dead at the scene, and the other was airlifted to a medical clinic, where he was later pronounced dead.
The incident is currently under investigation.