Blast rocks pork plant in St. Joseph; one killed

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- One person was killed and at least 14 were injured -- three of them critically -- in an explosion Wednesday at a $130 million pork processing plant under construction.

Battalion Chief Russell Moore estimated that five of the victims were blown out of the Triumph Foods plant around 2:45 p.m. when the explosion shook the neighborhood in southern St. Joseph.

The explosion, which originated in an office area and cafeteria, blew out windows on the first and second floors. Chunks of roofing material appeared to have been peeled off the structure, and rubble was sprayed on the ground outside the building.

Moore said he could feel the blast at a fire house a quarter-mile away.

"It sounded like a couple trains had backed into each other," he said.

Initial reports indicated the blast was an apparent natural gas explosion that may have been ignited by a welding torch.

But police spokesman Jim Connors said later the cause of the explosion was unknown.

"We haven't made any hard determination on anything," he said.

Gas was shut off, but he said it would be another day before officials could enter the building and investigate because the structure had to be evaluated to determine whether it was safe.

Connors said the only people in the building at the time of the explosion were contractors doing finishing work in preparation for the upcoming opening of the plant. The Triumph Foods plant is the largest development in St. Joseph in decades. It had been expected to open this fall, employing 1,000 to 1,500 workers.

The sole fatality, whose name was not immediately released, was found dead at the scene. Besides the 14 people that police said were hospitalized, fire officials said several others were treated at the scene.

"We are just lucky, if something like this were to happen, for it to happen now than when there are more people here," Connors said.

Moore, the battalion chief, said the building sustained roof and floor damage. He said there was smoke but no fire when the first firefighters arrived.

Two people had to be extracted from the building, including one person who was pinned under a concrete wall.

Pam Levetzow, spokeswoman for Missouri Gas Energy, which supplies gas to the building, said she had no information about the cause of the blast. She said the company would send workers out to investigate Thursday.

Officials at the plant's temporary office declined comment and referred questions to a company spokesman at the police and fire command post. But authorities said officials for Triumph, which is owned by about 40 hog producers in six Midwestern states, had left for the day.