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Shocking Footage Shows Explosion At Chemical Plant In US

Shocking Footage Shows Explosion At Chemical Plant In US

Authorities evacuated everyone within a one-mile radius of the plant

Claire Reid

Claire Reid

Footage caught the horrifying moment a chemical factory exploded in the US. You can see the explosion here:

The Rockton Chemtool plant, in Illinois, caught fire at around 7am on 14 June prompting the evacuation of everyone within a one-mile radius due to the potentially harmful chemicals released.

Seventy employees were safely evacuated from the site, with one firefighter sustaining injuries in the incident.

In a statement, the company said: "We have confirmed all on site are safe and accounted for. Our concern right now is for the safety of all our employees and the surrounding community.

"As a precaution, authorities have evacuated residents in a one-mile radius of the site.

ABC Chicago

"We do not yet know what caused this incident, but we will be working with local authorities and with our own risk management team to determine what happened and identify any corrective actions.

"We will share more details as they are known."

In the clip, a fire can be seen burning through the factory while thick, black smoke billows out completely covering the area.

Firefighters could be seen on site attempting to douse the flames with hoses.

Rockton Fire Chief Kirk Wilson said air quality tests had found there was now 'no danger to air quality' at the ground level, but people were 'strongly suggested' to evacuate as a precaution.

One worker at the plant told Fox 39 he had been at work for less than an hour when he heard someone shout 'fire' and alarms began to go off.

ABC Chicago

He told the news outlet: "Everybody that got us out of there - they were on top of it. We had plenty of time to get out. Everybody got out. It was pretty well organised.

"There's a lot of grease, oil and fluids in there. It's gonna burn for a while. If it was going to explode, it would've already done it.

"Those small explosions that everyone's seeing are drums of fluid or grease."

He went on to say that he had previously seen smaller evacuations due to other emergencies but said this time it was far worse.

"This is the worst it's ever, ever been," he said.

"We're just seeing a lot of hard work go up in flames... we're all scared and wondering what we're gonna do."

Featured Image Credit: ABC

Topics: US News