Contractor Denies Workers Involved in North Carolina Slim Jim Explosion

The company being sued by two workers injured in a deadly explosion at a Slim Jim plant in North Carolina says it does not appear that its work was involved in the explosion.

In a statement, attorney Rod Pettey said employees with Raleigh-based Southern Industrial Constructors did not work within or above the pump room. Federal investigators have said they think the June 9 explosion at the ConAgra Foods plant was fueled by a natural gas leak and that they had traced the blast to a pump room.

Leonard Spruill of Selma and Tammie O’Neal of Zebulon filed their lawsuit against Southern Industrial on Monday, saying the company was responsible for the natural gas leak.

Three people died in the explosion, and dozens of others were injured.