One dead in Pittsburgh factory explosion as workers trapped under rubble
One person has died, several people have been left injured and others are trapped under debris following a huge explosion at a steel plant in the US, with emergency services scrambling to the scene.
The Clairton Coke Works plant in near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has been engulfed in heavy smoke as the major rescue operation continues.
The plant, a massive industrial facility along the Monongahela River south of Pittsburgh, is considered the largest coking operation in North America and is one of four major US Steel plants in Pennsylvania that employ several thousand workers, reports the Mirror.
The explosion has left dozens wounded and people trapped under rubble. Emergency workers are currently on site trying to rescue them, officials say.
The Allegheny County Emergency Services said a fire at the plant started around 10:51am local time, and that it has transported five people. The agency did not provide any more details on those people transported and would only say it was an 'active scene.'
The plant is considered the largest coking operation in North America with several thousand employees. Senator John Fetterman has urged people in Pennsylvania to stay away from the site of the explosion.
"For those in the area, please listen to local officials and avoid the area," he wrote on X. "Keeping those injured and all who are impacted in my thoughts right now."
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In recent years, the Clairton plant has been dogged by concerns about pollution. In 2019, it agreed to settle a 2017 lawsuit for $8.5 million (£7.3m).
Under the settlement, the company agreed to spend $6.5 million (£5.6m) to reduce soot emissions and noxious odors from the Clairton coke-making facility, on the Monongahela River about 20 miles (32 kilometers) south of Pittsburgh.
The company also faced other lawsuits over pollution from the Clairton facility, including ones accusing the company of violating clean air laws after a December 2018 fire damaged the Clairton facility's sulfur pollution controls.
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