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Truck catches fire in Kennecott copper mine, prompting evacuations

Posted at 4:47 PM, Jan 01, 2019
and last updated 2019-01-02 23:48:08-05

HERRIMAN, Utah -- A truck fire broke out in the Bingham Canyon Mine, which is operated by Kennecott, Tuesday afternoon, causing the mine to be evacuated, officials said.

According to Kyle Bennett, a spokesperson for Kennecott, a blast truck caught on fire around 2 p.m. in the middle of the mine. The truck was in an "active blasting pattern" in the mine, Bennett stated.

Due to the fact that explosives and other hazardous materials were in the mine, Bennett stated that as per protocol, personnel were evacuated to certain points, and mining operations were stopped as soon as the fire was reported.

No one was injured during the incident, Bennett said, and everyone who was evacuated was accounted for.

Miners were held at evacuation points and were allowed to leave once the area was determined to be safe, Bennett said. Wednesday night, Fox 13 reached out again to Bennett, who said all trucks were operating again.

Bennett said he was not sure what type of truck caught on fire, but it was not one of the larger trucks that are used to haul material. He said they will try to recover the involved truck on Thursday.