At least two people are dead and multiple others injured after an explosion Tuesday at a Louisville, Kentucky, plant caused a partial collapse of the building and blew out windows in nearby homes and businesses.
The explosion occurred around 3 p.m. at Givaudan Sense Colour, which produces colorings for food and drinks.
The company was first to confirm the deaths, in a statement to CBS News late Tuesday night. “We are grieving with the families, friends, and loved ones of those that were lost and injured during this very difficult time,” Givaudan said.
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At least 12 employees were taken to hospitals, Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg and the local Emergency Medical Services said Tuesday night. It wasn’t clear whether the people who were killed were among them. Thirteen others who were hurt opted not to be brought to hospitals, EMS told CBS News.
Firefighters rescued and evacuated many people from the building, including some with life-threatening injuries, Greenberg said in the statement, adding that the Louisville Fire Department was combing the building and working with the company to see if all employees had been located.
The cause of the blast was under investigation. Givaudan said it’s “cooperating with first responders and supporting agencies.” Greenberg said officials spoke to employees inside the plant and they “initially conveyed that everything was normal activity when the explosion occurred.”
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Tyler McClain, a resident who lives about a mile away from the business, told CBS News he was in his house when he heard a “huge explosion. My whole house shook.”
Patrick Livers lives in a neighborhood immediately across the railroad tracks from the plant. He was at work when his mother, who had picked up his children from school and was bringing them home, called to say his home had been damaged by the explosion.
“I was like, ‘What are you talking about?’ Then she showed me the video. I was like, ‘Oh you’ve got to be kidding me,'” he said.
Livers said no one was home at the time. He said the explosion blew out windows up and down his street.
“The house is still standing. It’s just structural damage. If it was on a wall, it’s on the floor,” he said. “All the neighbors’ windows busted out, doors blown in. It looked like a small tornado went off inside the house.”
Steve Parobek was at work when the blast blew out the kitchen window in his apartment a block from the plant. He arrived home and found his cat safe and used two pizza boxes and some duct tape to cover his window as temperatures dropped steadily Tuesday night.
The University of Louisville Hospital treated seven of the injured and two were initially in critical condition, said Dr. Jason Smith, chief medical officer for University of Louisville Health. Hospital officials activated decontamination procedures for the victims, a process that involves removing their clothing and all the chemicals on them and then taking them for evaluation and treatment, Smith said.
Louisville Fire Chief Brian O’Neill said air monitoring began immediately after the explosion and “nothing at this point has ever shown any type of chemical problems in the air in this entire region.” O’Neill also said that fire officials “don’t precisely know yet exactly what types of leaks may happen or may be ongoing,” but he urged residents to stay calm.
The Louisville Fire Department was leading the investigation as of Tuesday night with help from state and federal partners. A reconstruction team from Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was headed to Louisville to help determine the cause of the explosion.
In April 2003, an explosion at the same location killed a worker at a caramel-coloring plant owned by D.D. Williamson & Co. Givaudan acquired the plant from D.D. Williamson in 2021.
Federal investigators determined a pressure relief valve on a tank had been removed when the company moved the tank to its Louisville plant in 1989. The tank exploded because there was no relief valve, according to a report from the Chemical Safety Board.