Nearly a dozen people have been hospitalized after a massive explosion at a Louisville plant collapsed part of the building.
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The explosion occurred at around 3 p.m. local time on Tuesday, Nov. 12, at the Givaudan Sense Colour, a natural food coloring plant, the New York Post reports. It caused the windows of nearby houses in the Clifton neighborhood of Louisville to shatter.
Lousiville Mayor Craig Greenberg confirmed that approximately 11 plant workers were rushed to nearby hospitals following the explosion. First responders managed to rescue one of the employees after he was pinned under part of the wreckage.
“Just spoke to a couple members of that team inside there and they have initially conveyed that everything was normal activity when the explosion occurred,” Greenberg stated during a press conference.
As a precaution, homes near the plant were evacuated, and a shelter-in-place was issued for a one-mile radius of the plant. This was due to concerns about a potential chemical leak.
City officials have confirmed that tests have not shown any hazardous material in the area surrounding the plant.
“We started air monitoring immediately, it is ongoing. We’re going in all directions within the whole area,” Louisville Fire Chief Brian O’Neill shared. “Rest assured that nothing at this point has ever shown any type of chemicals in the air in this entire region.”
The fire chief further stated that the investigation into the situation is ongoing. It remains unknown what caused the plant explosion.
Nearby Residents Recall What Happened Following the Louisville Plant Explosion
While speaking to the Couier Journal, nearby residents shared more details about what happened following the Louisville plant explosion.
Jacob Hayden, who lives near the plant, stated he left work early after hearing about the explosion. He had a few windows were broken, with some items falling off the shelves inside his home. His two cats were also shaken up.
“There shouldn’t be a factory in a residential neighborhood if you ask me. At all,” Hayden stated. “There needs to be a long look into the company.”
Arthur Smith, a resident of the Clifton neighborhood, also said he was walking along South Spring Street when he heard the explosion. “I heard it and felt it in the ground,” he recalled. “I tell you what, it grabbed your attention.”
Karen Roberts, assistant community director at the Axis at Lexington, had been showing an apartment when the explosion occurred. “It was so loud. I couldn’t believe it,” she stated. Her office is about a block away from where Louisville police created a blockade. “… You can pretty much see the plant in some people’s back windows.”
Meanwhile, the Courier Journal also reported that two people were critically injured in the explosion. Five others were in stable condition. University of Louisville Hospital Chief Medical Officer Dr. Jason Smith confirmed that seven of the 11 were at the medical center. He noted that the seven were either injured by the force of the explosion, experienced burns, or were hit with debris.
“For something like this, they had exposure to a lot of different chemicals, so we made sure we decontaminate them for everything,” Smith explained.