Post by Hobbyfarmer on Oct 30, 2011 6:07:18 GMT -5
Kansas Officials Look for Missing After Explosion
Published October 29, 2011
| Associated Press
ATCHISON, Kan. – An official has confirmed that three Kansas grain elevator workers died in an explosion.
City Manager Trey Cocking says three other people remain missing after the explosion in the northeast Kansas town of Atchison. He says authorities plan to bring in equipment to dig through rubble Sunday at the Bartlett Grain Co. elevator.
The president of Bartlett Grain, the company that owns the grain elevator, also says there were fatalities but could not say how many.
Authorities say the explosion Saturday in Atchison shook the ground for miles around and sent a fireball so high into the sky that it was visible in Missouri.
Atchison City Manager Trey Cocking says several people remain unaccounted for with search and rescue efforts under way. He did not know exactly how many people, or whether they were employees or others.
Two injured victims were in critical condition in the burn unit at the University of Kansas Hospital in Kansas City, Kan., about 50 miles south of the blast site at the Bartlett Grain Co. elevator in Atchison, Kan., hospital spokesman Dennis McCulloch said. It was not immediately clear how many people may have been in or around the elevator at the time of the explosion.
A news release from Atchison city officials said multiple injuries were reported, but that authorities were withholding details pending notification of families. A spokeswoman for Atchison Hospital, TC Roberts, said the hospital had not treated any patients from the explosion and didn't expect to receive any.
The cause of the explosion was not immediately known, though grain elevator mishaps often occur after grain dust becomes suspended in the air and turns explosive in the right conditions. In its news release, the city said rescue operations "can be difficult because workers are often scattered throughout the facility, making them difficult to locate."
Several area police and firefighting agencies were on the scene late Saturday, and fire crews were seen pumping water onto the wreckage well into the night. The elevator's roof appeared to have been blown off, with another large piece of the structure hanging off the side, the St. Joseph, Mo., News-Press reported. Access roads leading to the elevator were blocked by authorities as the search-and-rescue effort was under way.
The explosion at about 7 p.m. could be seen and felt across Atchison, a town of about 11,000 people known as the birthplace of aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart.
Across the river in Buchanan County, Mo., a sheriff's dispatcher said their office took numerous calls from residents saying they could hear the explosion deep into the county. Residents across the area said a fireball from the explosion could be seen well away from the site.
Randy Burton, an employee at the Quick Stop East convenience store in Atchison about two miles from the elevator, said the explosion "shook our whole building."
"All I saw was a flash and then the building shook really good," Burton said. "Some things fell off our shelves."
Read more: www.foxnews.com/us/2011/10/29/grain-elevator-explodes-in-kansas/#ixzz1cGJGESDv
