Iowa Plant Explosion, Fire Lead to Injuries, Evacuation

MARENGO, Iowa (AP) — An explosion and fire at an agricultural plant Thursday in eastern Iowa injured more than a dozen people and led to and an evacuation of people near the operation.

The explosion and fire happened about 11:15 a.m. in Marengo at a plant owned by Heartland Crush, a soybean crushing company. Hours later, the fire continued to burn.

The fire was finally extinguished at 4:30 a.m. Friday, Marengo Police Chief Ben Gray told the Des Moines Register.

Five people were taken by ambulance to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City and others were driven separately to hospitals in personal vehicles, according to a city of Marengo news release. Gray said at least one person was in serious condition at the hospital’s burn unit Friday, the Register reported.

Iowa State Patrol Senior Trooper Bob Conrad told the Des Moines Register that at least 30 people were in the plant when the explosion happened. It wasn’t clear what caused the explosion.

Gray said Friday that employees were doing maintenance on a piece of equipment when the building exploded, but he didn’t know details, the Register reported.

A fire had also broke out at the facility on Oct. 25 while workers were doing maintenance, the newspaper said. A tank caught fire while being welded, Gray said, injuring one person and causing smoke and fire damage to the building.

Crews from several counties were fighting the fire on Thursday and Friday. A huge plume of black smoke was visible for miles.

Residents near the plant were evacuated, and the Iowa County Sheriff’s Department advised people who live at a safe distance to stay indoors to avoid exposure to smoke.

Marengo is about 80 miles (129 kilometers) east of Des Moines.