Topline
One person is unaccounted for following multiple explosions at a U.S. Steel plant outside of Pittsburgh on Monday that killed at least one and drew first responders to battle flames and heavy smoke at the facility.
Ten people were injured and one person died following multiple explosions at the U.S. Clairton Coke Works plant in Clariton, Pennsylvania, just after 11 a.m. EDT on Monday.
Rescue operations are underway for one person unaccounted for, local law enforcement told reporters in a 3:45 p.m. EDT press conference.
At least nine people were taken to local hospitals and Abigail Gardner, a spokesperson for Allegheny County, said some injuries were critical.
Zachary Buday, a construction worker on a job site about half a mile away from the plant, told The New York Times the explosion was “a shock wave. It almost took the air out of your chest,” he said.
Officials from the Allegheny County Health Department advised residents within one mile of the explosion to stay inside and keep windows closed as they monitor air quality, with the department later noting it has “not detected levels of PM2.5 (particulate matter) and So2 (sulfur dioxide) above federal standards.”
U.S. Steel executive Scott Buckiso said the plant is stable as search and rescue continues.
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KDKA-TV, the local CBS affiliate, reported the explosion happened in the "reversing room" of the 13/15 battery, which acts as a mechanical regulator ensuring coal bakes evenly in an oven. In steel production, coal is "baked" in a process to produce coke, a key ingredient for blast furnaces that reduces iron ore and provides heat for steelmaking. Little other information was available Monday afternoon on what caused the explosions. The Clairton Coke Works is the largest coking operation in North America. It employs thousands of people and produces about 4.3 million tons of coke annually, according to U.S. Steel.
"The mill is such a big part of Clairton,” Clairton Mayor Richard Lattanzi told KDKA-TV. “For anyone that works, how old or young you are, you have to work every day, you need to go home healthy, and some people are not going to see the same husband or son or somebody that's working the mill. It's just a sad day for Clairton.”