An explosion at a plastics manufacturing plant jolted this central Illinois town, killing four workers, critically injuring two others and forcing the evacuation of the entire community.
Six other workers suffered less serious injuries in the blast late on Friday, which demolished 50 percent to 75 percent of the Formosa Plastics Plant and rattled the windows and walls of houses well over 1.5km away.
"I'm not a war veteran, but that is the loudest explosion I've ever heard in my life,'' said Illiopolis Mayor Allen Brickey, who lives less than 3km from the plant.
Dozens of firefighters were still working on Saturday night to put out fires at the plant, about 40km east of Springfield.
Officials said they didn't expect the fires to be out until yesterday.
Workers were mixing vinyl chloride and vinyl acetate when an explosion occurred, followed by one or two subsequent blasts, Sangamon County Sheriff Neil Williamson said.
Eighteen workers were in the plant at the time.
Four injured workers were admitted to Springfield's Memorial Medical Center. Hospital spokesman Ed McDowall said two were in critical condition, one was in serious condition and one was in fair condition.
Four others were treated for smoke inhalation at other local hospitals.
Sangamon County Coroner Susan Boone identified those killed as Joseph Machalek, 50, Larry Graves, 47, and Linda Hancock, 56, all of Decatur, and Glenn Lyman, 49, of Cornland.
Illiopolis' roughly 1,000 residents were evacuated after the explosion because of hazardous fumes created by the burning chemicals.
Evacuees were sheltered in malls, stores and hotels.
All but about 30 residents were allowed back home by Saturday afternoon.
When vinyl chloride burns it emits hydrochloric acid, said Rich D'Elia, a battalion chief with the Springfield Fire Department who was the incident commander on the scene. He added, however, that preliminary tests indicated the air was safe to breathe.
Plant manager Roe Vadas said the cause of the explosion was unknown.
Investigators from the US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board and the plant's corporate parent, Formosa Plastics Corp USA, were traveling to the scene.
The plant, with about 135 workers, makes PVC resins that are used in vinyl flooring, traffic cones and carpet backing, said Rob Thibault, a spokesman for the plant's corporate parent.
A 30km section of Interstate 72 was closed for about six hours after the explosion, said Patti Thompson, a spokeswoman with the Illinois Emergency Management Agency.
FRAUD ALLEGED: The leader of an opposition alliance made allegations of electoral irregularities and called for a protest in Tirana as European leaders are to meet Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama’s Socialist Party scored a large victory in parliamentary elections, securing him his fourth term, official results showed late on Tuesday. The Socialist Party won 52.1 percent of the vote on Sunday compared with 34.2 percent for an alliance of opposition parties led by his main rival Sali Berisha, according to results released by the Albanian Central Election Commission. Diaspora votes have yet to be counted, but according to initial results, Rama was also leading there. According to projections, the Socialist Party could have more lawmakers than in 2021 elections. At the time, it won 74 seats in the
EUROPEAN FUTURE? Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama says only he could secure EU membership, but challenges remain in dealing with corruption and a brain drain Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama seeks to win an unprecedented fourth term, pledging to finally take the country into the EU and turn it into a hot tourist destination with some help from the Trump family. The artist-turned-politician has been pitching Albania as a trendy coastal destination, which has helped to drive up tourism arrivals to a record 11 million last year. US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, also joined in the rush, pledging to invest US$1.4 billion to turn a largely deserted island into a luxurious getaway. Rama is expected to win another term after yesterday’s vote. The vote would
CANCER: Jose Mujica earned the moniker ‘world’s poorest president’ for giving away much of his salary and living a simple life on his farm, with his wife and dog Tributes poured in on Tuesday from across Latin America following the death of former Uruguayan president Jose “Pepe” Mujica, an ex-guerrilla fighter revered by the left for his humility and progressive politics. He was 89. Mujica, who spent a dozen years behind bars for revolutionary activity, lost his battle against cancer after announcing in January that the disease had spread and he would stop treatment. “With deep sorrow, we announce the passing of our comrade Pepe Mujica. President, activist, guide and leader. We will miss you greatly, old friend,” Uruguayan President Yamandu Orsi wrote on X. “Pepe, eternal,” a cyclist shouted out minutes later,
Myanmar’s junta chief met Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) for the first time since seizing power, state media reported yesterday, the highest-level meeting with a key ally for the internationally sanctioned military leader. Senior General Min Aung Hlaing led a military coup in 2021, overthrowing Myanmar’s brief experiment with democracy and plunging the nation into civil war. In the four years since, his armed forces have battled dozens of ethnic armed groups and rebel militias — some with close links to China — opposed to its rule. The conflict has seen Min Aung Hlaing draw condemnation from rights groups and pursued by the
RSS