WATFORD CITY, N.D. – A Duluth, Minn., man who died in an accident at a hydraulic fracturing site Saturday north of Watford City was a family man and Air Force veteran who was proud of the work he was doing in North Dakota, his family said Sunday.Mike Krajewski, 49, a father of three, died in an incident about 3:30 p.m. Saturday at a Halliburton fracking location about 24 miles north of Watford City, according to the McKenzie County Sheriff’s Office.
The Occupational Health and Safety Administration will conduct a complete investigation, said Sgt. Matt Johansen. Preliminary information indicates that while Krajewski was working, a valve was turned wrong and “somehow a pipe came disconnected and ending up hitting him in the head,” Johansen said.
Greg Krajewski of Belle Fourche, S.D., a brother of Mike Krajewski, said the family has been told that Mike died instantly, and an autopsy will be performed Tuesday.
Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is a process to extract oil and gas underground using pressurized fluids and sand. Mike’s job involved pumping fluids at high pressures, Greg said.
