Contractor Dies at KY Power Plant

Investigators are trying to determine how a contractor fell into a coal ash pond and died Thursday at a Kentucky Utilities (KU) power plant in Ghent, Kentucky.

Aaron Bunger, 36, from Trenton, Ohio, died in the incident. He was a KU contractor employed by Tetra Tech, an engineering consulting firm based in California.

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Bunger “slipped” into the pond around noon, his body was not recovered by emergency responders until much later in the day, said Carroll County Coroner David Wilhoite.

An ash pond is an engineered structure for the disposal of bottom ash and fly ash.

The incident is under investigation.

The KU plant is along the Ohio River, upriver from Carrollton in Carroll County, and about 45 miles northeast of Louisville.

On its website, KU said:

“Safety is the foundation for all we do at LG&E and KU. We offer safety tips and information to ensure you, your family members and friends, our employees and business partners remain safe each and every day.”