An explosion at the U.S. Steel plant near Pittsburgh on Monday left one person dead and dozens injured or trapped under rubble, officials said. Emergency crews were at the scene working to help the victims.
The midday blast sent a plume of black smoke over the Monongahela Valley, an area of the state that has been synonymous with steel for more than a century.
Allegheny County emergency services spokeswoman Casey Rayner said one person was killed and two were currently missing.
Ms Rayner said several other people had received medical treatment for their injuries.
Allegheny County Emergency Services said the fire at the plant started around 10:51 a.m.
The explosion caused shock among local residents, and authorities urged citizens to stay away from the scene so that emergency services could carry out their work.
“It sounded like thunder,” Zachary Buday, a construction worker near the scene, told WTAE-TV.
“The scaffolding shook, my chest shook, the building shook, and then when we saw the black smoke rising from the steel mill and we put two and two together, we knew something terrible had happened.”
Dozens of people were injured, Ms. Rayner said, and the county sent 15 ambulances to supplement equipment provided by local emergency services.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
