PHOENIX (AP) - The Latest on an electrical vault explosion in downtown Phoenix that killed a utility worker (all times local):
6 p.m.
Arizona Public Service says power to three of four major buildings in downtown Phoenix that lost electric service after an underground utility vault fire that killed a worker is now expected to be restored within 48 hours.
Getting power back to a fourth building could take longer.
The utility said Monday evening that two workers were replacing a power cable in the vault when an electrical flash occurred and a fire erupted. APS worker Ricardo Castillo was killed. A second worker was treated and released for burns
The accident late Sunday night cut power to four major building - the Wells Fargo Tower, the Phoenix Municipal Building, the Maricopa County Administrative Building and the south hall of the Phoenix Convention Center.
All but the Wells Fargo building should have power back within two days.
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5 p.m.
Arizona Public Service says it may take a few days to restore electric service to four major Phoenix buildings that lost power after a fire in an underground utility vault that killed a worker.
APS spokeswoman Suzanne Trevino said Monday afternoon that the utility is working to see if there are temporary options for those four buildings. They include the main county administration building, Wells Fargo building, Phoenix Municipal Building and the south building at the Phoenix Convention center Several other buildings have only partial power.
APS says the fire that broke out during maintenance work Sunday night killed Ricardo Castillo. He was a 12-year employee who was active in his church and would have turned 42 on Monday. A second worker was treated for burns and released from a hospital.
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4:15 p.m.
Authorities have identified a worker who died in an explosion in an underground utility vault in Phoenix that left several downtown buildings without power.
Phoenix police said Monday that 42-year-old Ricardo Castillo died at the scene of Sunday night’s explosion.
Castillo was one of two Arizona Public Service electricians doing maintenance work. The other worker, a 46-year-old man, managed to escape the vault.
He was treated for burns to his hands and face.
In a statement, APS described Castillo as a loving husband, father and grandfather who was known as “Rico” to co-workers.
The explosion and a subsequent fire left several buildings without power and the Superior Court to cancel all hearings. As of Monday afternoon, four buildings still had no power while others had only partial electricity.
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10:35 a.m.
Numerous major highrise buildings in downtown Phoenix remain without power hours after an explosion in an underground utility vault killed one worker and injured a second.
Maricopa County spokesman Fields Moseley said at midmorning Monday that the county’s main administration office building at 301 W. Jefferson St is without power and shut down. All trials and hearings at the Superior Court complex next door were cancelled because of road closures and power outages. Valley Metro was rerouting light rail trains.
Arizona Public Service says power is also out at the Wells Fargo building, Phoenix Municipal Building and Phoenix Civic Plaza South.
The APS worker was killed late Sunday while doing maintenance work. The second worker managed to escape the vault but had burns to his hands and face.
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8:22 a.m.
Arizona’s largest utility says one of its workers died over the weekend while doing maintenance in an underground vault.
Fire crews had responded to an explosion in the vault late Sunday night in downtown Phoenix and saw flames coming out of a manhole.
Arizona Public Service Co. says one employee died. Another worker suffered minor burns to his hands and face and was taken to a medical center.
The fire knocked out power to a number of businesses downtown, and impacted travel on buses and the light rail system.
APS says other outages are possible Monday.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
APS has not released the names of the workers.
- This story has corrected the spelling of Fields Moseley’s last name.
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