One Dies, Three Rescued as Smokestack Burns

A construction worker died in a smokestack fire at a West Virginia power plant and three others were plucked by helicopter from the 900-foot structure while it burned.

The three rescued workers were in stable condition when they were transferred to medical helicopters and flown to a Pittsburgh hospital. Fire delayed recovery of the body of the fourth.

The coal-fired plant is owned by American Electric Power. The smokestack was still under construction at the time.

The workers were at the top of the stack and coating the inside of it with fiberglass resin when the fire erupted, possibly caused by a space heater.