An explosion and a subsequent fire at the Didion Milling corn processing plant in Cambria, Wisconsin, late Wednesday has left at least two people dead and 13 others injured, local authorities said.
One person remains missing, Cambria Fire Department Chief Cody Doucette said at a news conference Thursday night.
Sheriff Dennis Richards said at a Thursday morning press conference that 16 people were inside the plant at the time of the explosion, just after 11 p.m. Central Time. Multiple burns were reported among the injured, authorities said. Two people walked away from the plant without injuries.
More than four medical helicopters were sent to the scene, according to authorities. Several emergency organizations, including the Salvation Army and the Red Cross, and more than 20 local fire departments responded to the blaze.
The cause of the explosion is still unclear.
The plant has multiple levels, and part of a mill complex collapsed as a result of the explosion.
Emergency officials respond to an explosion at the Didion Milling plant in Cambria, Wisconsin.
The mill, which supplies corn and ethanol for customers around the world, operates around the clock.
Didion has about 175 employees and operates four locations across Wisconsin, according to the company. Cambria is approximately 70 miles northwest of Milwaukee.
“Dust explosions in the food industry are nothing new. According to OSHA in the USA there are twice as many explosions in the food than in any other industry 74 incidents between 1998 and 2008, but only five grain dust explosions occurred in the United States in 2016, a 10-year low! The five grain dust explosions in 2016 compared with eight in 2015, seven in 2014 and a 10-year average of 9.2 per year. Two of the incidents resulted in the first reported fatalities since 2013.”
This milling plant explosion in Wisconsin maybe as big in terms of devastation as One of the biggest dust explosions in recent years occurred at a sugar refinery in the USA, in 2008, resulting in 14 fatalities, multiple injuries and major facility destruction.
Article Source: http://abcnews.go.com/US/injuries-reported-milling-plant-explosion-wisconsin/story?id=47762215