July 1998 Volume 21, Issue 7

Grain Blast Death Toll Rises to 5

By ROXANA HEGEMAN
Associated Press Writer

HAYSVILLE, Kan. (AP) — The death toll in a grain elevator explosion rose to five Wednesday with the discovery of two bodies and the identification of another victim's remains.

Crews continued to dig through the cascading grain in hopes of finding one other missing worker alive, but suspended their efforts about 7:45 p.m. because high winds were blowing debris off the roof of the elevator.

Forecasters said a storm packing hail was headed to
the area. A body was found buried in grain about 4:30 p.m., said Sedgwick County District Fire Chief Ken Cox. It was between 50 and 100 feet from the a body found earlier in the day. Neither body has been identified.

The search had resumed at mid-afternoon after being temporarily suspended after two rescuers were trapped in grain — one up to his armpits. Neither was injured.

``This is a very dangerous occupation. We can't guarantee they will be safe at all times,'' district Fire Chief Ken Cox said.

About 40 workers at a time were going into the 7-by-7 foot tunnel section where the men were believed to have been working, half at each end.

``We're still in rescue mode,'' said Phil Kirk, a spokesman for the Federal Emergency Management Agency. ``We're not giving up because there's still hope we can find someone who is still alive.''

The blast, apparently caused by a spark that ignited highly explosive grain dust, happened Monday at the DeBruce Grain complex south of Wichita.

Two men, Jose Prajedes Ortiz, 24, and Jose Luis Duarte, 41, were killed, and four were trapped. Eleven others were injured, and two of them remained in critical condition.

County Coroner Corrie May said human remains found Tuesday were identified as those of one of the four trapped workers. Authorities have not identified either of the bodies found Wednesday or the remains. The missing have been identified as Howard Goin, Noel Najera, Victor M. Castaneda and Raymundo Diaz-Vela.

More than 100 people were on the scene Wednesday, some of them members of the Oklahoma City Fire Department who worked on recovery efforts after the 1995 bombing that killed 168 people.

Searchers used super-sensitive listening devices, heat-detecting cameras, tiny video cameras on long poles and trucks that vacuum up grain and debris through hoses.