Authorities say 51-year-old Derrick Paris, of West Caldwell, New Jersey, and 28-year-old Justin McLoughlin, of Trenton, Georgia, were working as private contractors for Orange and Rockland Utilities.
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They were working on the lines that cross Mount Peter in Warwick when they were electrocuted just before noon Monday.
Officials said they were tightening a guy wire at the base of a transmission pole.
"The guy wire became energized at some point for some reason, and that's in the investigation," company spokesman Mike Donovan said. "We don't know that reason, and I don't want to kid you to think we do."
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Federal and state investigators are looking into what specifically energized the wires, which typically are not electrified.
The utility company is also conducting its own investigation.
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