The dead are all male and Hispanic, said Jolene Weiner, chief deputy coroner for Weld County. Their identities were being withheld pending notification of the families
Rescue teams have retrieved six bodies from a dairy facility on the Colorado plains and are probing whether the victims died from gas exposure in an enclosed area, officials announced Thursday.
The deceased are all male and of Hispanic origin, according to Jolene Weiner, chief deputy coroner for Weld County. Their names were being withheld until families could be notified.
“We are investigating these deaths as the possible consequence of gas exposure in a confined space.” Weiner stated. Post-mortem examinations are scheduled and investigators are examining what types of gases might have caused the fatalities.
The dairy operation, Prospect Valley Dairy, sits along a country road near Keenesburg, roughly 35 miles (55 kilometers) northeast of Denver.
Emergency responders entered an enclosed area at the dairy Wednesday and retrieved the bodies, the Southeast Weld Fire Protection District reported.
Weld County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Melissa Chesmore confirmed her department also responded Wednesday to an incident at the dairy.
“We didn’t find anything criminal in nature,” she stated. “It looks like an accident.”
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She declined to provide details about the emergency’s nature or specify where the bodies were discovered, directing inquiries to workplace safety regulators.
Chauntra Rideaux, a U.S. Department of Labor spokesperson, confirmed in an email that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration was conducting an investigation and additional details would be released upon completion.
Dairy Farmers of America has confirmed a “tragic accident” at a member farm in Keenesburg, resulting in the deaths of six individuals.
“We are deeply saddened by this incident, and our thoughts and most sincere condolences go out to the friends and families of the deceased. At this early stage, we have no further details,” the dairy farmers’ cooperative expressed in a statement.
According to county tax records, the property is owned by Prospect Valley Dairy LLC, with the owners listed as residing at a Bakersfield, California address. Attempts to reach the owners via phone at the California address have so far been unsuccessful.
The farm, as per county records, boasts a dairy milking parlor spanning 32,500 square feet.
It also features two free stall barns, one constructed in 2017 measuring over 450,000 square feet, and another built last year that exceeds 100,000 square feet.
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