Two chemical plant workers found dead

CHANNELVIEW, Texas (AP) -- Two workers were found dead early today inside a large boiler they had been cleaning at a chemical plant.

They had been working on a scaffold, performing routine sandblasting inside the 22-by- 27-foot boiler, said David Harpole, a spokesman for the Equistar Chemicals LP plant.

''They were being provided with breathing air because of the nature of the space they were in and because of the sandblasting operation,'' he said.

However, he added that information was still sketchy and the cause of the deaths was not yet known. There was no immediate word when the two were last heard from.

Harpole said officials were not aware of any chemical being released in the area where the contract employees were working.

Investigators from the Harris County medical examiner's office were at the scene.

Channelview is about 15 miles east of Houston.