THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Friday, September 6, 1996             TAG: 9609060514
SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B5   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: FROM WIRE REPORTS 
DATELINE: YORKTOWN                          LENGTH:   61 lines

FOUR CIVILIANS DIE IN ACCIDENT AT YORKTOWN WEAPONS STATION THREE OF THEM DIED APPARENTLY TRYING TO RESCUE THEIR COLLEAGUE.

Four civilian employees working at Yorktown Naval Weapons Station died Thursday in a sewage tank accident, base officials said.

The accident occurred about 3:30 p.m. when one of the workers entered a sewage tank on the station's pier on the York River to do some maintenance, said Kay Phillips, public information officer at Naval Ordinance Center, Atlantic Division.

Apparently while disconnecting a valve in the tank, he was overcome by fumes. With the valve disconnected, the tank partially filled with gas and sewage, she said.

Phillips said the other three workers entered the tank, apparently to rescue their colleague, and were overcome by fumes. Methane - an odorless, colorless and combustible gas - is often found in sewage tanks.

The workers' names have not been released pending notification of their families. The four worked for Chesapeake-based Qualicon Corp.

The Navy is investigating the deaths to find the cause, Phillips said.

YORKTOWN - Four men, one of them from Norfolk, died after being overcome by fumes while working in a sewage tank at the Yorktown Naval Weapons Station on Thursday afternoon, Navy officials said.

The victims were identified as Randy Sparks and Orlando Welsh, both of Lackey, Jason Parker of Seaford and Darrell Gauthier of Norfolk. No other information about them was immediately available.

The accident occurred about 3:30 p.m. when one of the workers entered a sewage tank on the station's pier on the York River to do some maintenance, said Kay Phillips, public information officer at Naval Ordinance Center, Atlantic Division.

Apparently while disconnecting a valve in the tank, he was overcome by fumes. With the valve disconnected, the tank partially filled with gas and sewage, she said.

Phillips said the other three workers entered the tank, apparently to rescue their colleague, and were overcome by fumes. Methane - an odorless, colorless and combustible gas - is often found in sewage tanks.

All four were pronounced dead at the scene, said Tom Black, public affairs officer for the Yorktown base.

York County Fire and Rescue was called to assist after the accident. About 10 rescue workers from two stations responded, including members of the technical rescue team.

The bodies of the four men were taken to the medical examiner's office in Norfolk, where autopsies will be conducted, Navy officials said. The Navy will conduct an official investigation into the accident.

The tank, located by the weapons station pier, is used as a holding facility for sewage waste pumped out of docking ships, Black said. No ships had arrived since last week, so it was probably empty, he said.

Kay Phillips, another Navy public affairs officer, said she believed the workers were involved in hurricane preparations on Thursday.

Qualicon's president, Carl Edwards, was at the weapons station until late Thursday and was not immediately available to comment. MEMO: The Associated Press and Newport News Daily Press contributed to

this report.

KEYWORDS: ACCIDENT GENERAL FATALITY DEATHS YORKTOWN

NAVAL WEAPONS STATION by CNB