Abstract: On September 14, 2011, a crew of four were putting pipe back into an oil well hole in preparation to hook the well up to a horse head pump. The pipe had been lowered only 180 feet as part of a 10,000 foot well when an uncontrolled release of natural gas occurred. The blow out preventer for the well was released and the employees were in the process of exiting the rig when the gas exploded killing one employee immediately and injuring three others. The root cause is under determination by the state coroner. One employee died at the scene and a second employee died from burn injuries at a hospital the day after the accident.