GEISMAR, La. — A ground-rattling explosion Thursday at a chemical plant in Louisiana ignited a blaze that killed at least one person and injured dozens of others, authorities said. Witnesses described a chaotic scene of flames as high as 200 feet into the air and workers scrambling over gates to escape the plant.
A thick plume of black smoke rose from the plant after the blast even after the fire was extinguished. At a roadblock several miles away where family members waited anxiously to hear about loved ones, flames were still easily visible above the trees hours later.
Louisiana’s health department said 73 people were treated at hospitals for injuries ranging from minor to critical after the morning explosion. A body was found by hazardous materials crews going through the aftermath of the blast at the facility, said state police Capt. Doug Cain.
The plant, owned by The Williams Companies Inc., based in Tulsa, Okla., is in an industrial area of Geismar, a Mississippi River community about 20 miles southeast of Baton Rouge.
The cause was not immediately known but the FBI said terrorism was not suspected.
