An explosion at a box manufacturing plant in Missouri caused the deaths of three people and injured four. The company at which the industrial accident occurred had apparently been cited for safety violations multiple times in 2014 and 2015. This tragedy took place on a recent Monday morning.
According to initial reports, the box manufacturer had a boiler that provided steam to operate some of its equipment. For reasons under investigation, the boiler — with an estimated weight of over one ton — exploded, and part of it shot through the roof of the building. It was propelled over 500 feet across the street and slammed into a linen company.
One employee of the box manufacturer died in the explosion, and six people at the linen company were struck by falling debris and the portion of the boiler — only four of them survived. A spokesperson for the business revealed that three new employees who were filling out paperwork were victims — two of them suffered fatal injuries. One employee was critically injured after being pinned under a large piece of the cast iron boiler. Two of the victims reportedly suffered critical injuries and one received emergency surgery.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigators were on the scene of the industrial accident at this Missouri box manufacturer to try to determine what caused the explosion. All the injured victims and the surviving families of the deceased workers will be entitled to pursue help to cover costs through the workers’ compensation insurance system. Benefits for the injured typically include coverage for medical expenses and lost wages, and death benefits provide surviving family members with compensation for funerals and burials along with wage replacement packages.
Source: nbc-2.com, “Fire chief: 3 dead, 4 hurt when boiler explodes in St. Louis”, Jim Suhr, April 4, 2017