The Pueblo County Coroner has identified the employees as Kyle Bussey, 28, of Pueblo and Philip Roberts, 36, of Canon City.
The slide happened on an 80-foot-high coal pile. Witnesses said the workers were standing about 30 feet up a slope of the pile when the slide occurred Thursday morning. Rescuers found the bodies about 6 hours later.
Witnesses reported that the accident happened on a feeder pile for the station’s coal-fired power plant, which is Colorado’s largest and is operated by Xcel Energy. Xcel spokeswoman Lacey Nygard said the workers are employed by Savage, a Salt Lake City-based firm contracted by Xcel to operate and maintain the coal yard at Comanche and at other Xcel coal plants.
Xcel is working with Savage and the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office to determine the cause of the accident.