1 dead, others hurt hurt in West Virginia chemical plant explosion
BELLE, W.Va. (KKTV) - An explosion at a chemical plant in West Virginia Tuesday night left one person dead forced a shelter-in-place order for residents living within a 2-mile radius of the facility.
At least three others are injured.
The explosion happened at about 10 p.m. EST at the Chemours Plant in the town of Belle, which is about 11 miles southwest of Charleston.
11 News sister station WSAZ is reporting at least two of the four people injured were inside the plant when the explosion happened. The explosion flung large chunks of metal in the air and sparked a fire inside the building, which was largely out as of Tuesday morning.
People from more than a mile away could felt the blast. One man told WSAZ he heard an “enormous noise,” then felt his house lift off the ground.
“I had just sat down in a chair and it hadn’t been 10 seconds and you could actually hear the explosion,” he said, adding that he thought his house was going to collapse on top of him.
Watch the interview below:
Kanawha County Emergency Management shared a few details in a tweet:
The shelter-in-place was lifted around 2 a.m. EST.
The cause of the explosion remains under investigation, but WSAZ is reporting the incident involved chlorinated dry bleach and methanol.
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