Stemming from an incident that occurred in Burleson County on January 29, 2020, at an oil well operated by Chesapeake Energy of Oklahoma City, a total of three workers have been pronounced dead due to the explosion.
Per reports, 38-year-old Windell Beddingfield of Tyler was killed at the scene of the explosion and two others were transported to hospitals in Houston and Austin via helicopter due to the nature of their injuries.
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Two days after the report of the explosion, the second man whose name has still not been released, died from injuries suffered from the explosion.
On Saturday, February 1, reports were made that a third man, Brian Maldonado had succumbed to the injuries he had sustained in the explosion as well. Maldonado was from San Diego, TX and was an oil field worker. This brings the death toll up to three from the oil well explosion.
Based on the reports, crews were working to upgrade a wellhead at the surface when unexpectedly an amount of natural gas entered the almost 9,000 foot deep well and ignited. The investigation is currently being handled by state and local authorities because the source of the ignition is still not clear.
Natural gas has a very limited range of flammability. It must be mixed in a proper proportion with the air for it to burn. The ignition temperature of natural gas is also very high. For it to ignite, the temperature of the ignitor would have to be 1,200 degrees Fahrenheit. Because of these specific factors, it is hard to get natural gas to ignite or combust.
Beddingfield’s mother, Linda Milanovich, has filed a request for injunction before a District Court in Caldwell to preserve the evidence from the explosion in case of a possible lawsuit. Milanovich’s lawyer has stated that they are hoping for hearing as early as Monday or Tuesday.
Beddingfield is survived by a wife and 16-year-old daughter.
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