An overnight blast at an ethanol-processing plant and resulting fire in Wisconsin left one person dead, two missing and more than 10 injured.
At least 16 people were inside the Didion Milling plant in Cambria when the explosion took place around midnight Wednesday, according to ABC News.
Several fire crews rushed to the scene following the explosion, said CBS News.
Sheriff Dennis Richards said at a press conference early Thursday that two people were still missing since the time of the explosion at the mill, which processes corn and corn by-products for ethanol plants, including one across the street.
“We are praying for our team,” said Riley Didion, the president of Didion Milling. “There’s a lot we don’t know right now. Our prayers are with everyone.”
Nayeli Hernandez, an employee at the corn milling plant, said she received a call that two of her friends were trapped inside the building when the massive explosion occured.
“I got a phone call from my brother,” Hernandez told WISC-TV. “I called a coworker who is another lab tech. They were trapped inside. A big explosion happened, then everything just collapsed.”
The cause of the explosion was under investigation.
The incident cames after Didion Milling had been “previously cited for ‘serious’ safety violations.”
Lois Frank, who lives four blocks from the plant, said her “house shook” from the blast.
“We heard a loud boom and the house shook,” she said.
Nearby highways were closed as a result of the explosion and local schools were closed Thursday, considering the hundreds of homes and businesses that lost power after the explosion.
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