Two construction workers were taken to the hospital Tuesday evening after they deployed dry ice in a wellhead in Eagle River and suffocated, according to the Anchorage Fire Department.
AFD received the 911 call around 7 p.m. About ten minutes later, the first responder arrived outside the home tucked on the mountainside near the intersection of Silverwood Hill Drive and Golden Eagle Drive, AFD said.
Al Tamagni, AFD communications officer, said in a statement Wednesday that the two construction workers had dropped dry ice down an 8-foot hole with a well casing at the bottom. The dry ice was used to improve the pressure of the low-producing home water well.
One man went down into the well as the dry ice started to evaporate into carbon dioxide gas. The gas displaced the available oxygen, Tamagni said.
The man had a "medical emergency," Tamagni said. The second man jumped into the hole to help and also "encountered medical problems," he said.
An AFD dispatcher said Tuesday that the men "were asphyxiated by the lack of oxygen in the wellhead."
A third person at the home saw what happened and called 911, Tamagni said.
A swarm of fire, police and medic vehicles arrived at the home. The men were not responsive.
Rescue crews wearing self-contained breathing apparatuses went into the hole and pulled one man out at 7:21 p.m. The second man was pulled out minutes later, AFD said.
The men were taken to a hospital. AFD said it could not describe the men's conditions, citing the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA.
Note: This story has been updated with additional information from the Anchorage Fire Department.