Six workers at a sugar refinery near Savannah are unaccounted for this morning after an explosion that injured at least 40-people, some critically.
The explosion happened around 8pm last night in a holding area for refined sugar at the Imperial Sugar Company’s massive plant just north of Savannah. The blast sent at least eight workers to a regional burn center in Augusta and pressed into service first responders region-wide. Matthew Stanley of the Savannah Fire Department says, fire-fighters suspended their search for missing workers when it became too dangerous.
"The structure is heavily damaged. It’s just not a good area for our crews to be working, particularly at night. It’s just not safe for them. And they have searched everywhere they possibly can in the areas where they can get. Hopefully, at first light, we can get a better idea of what we’re working with and get crews back in there".
Authorities won’t speculate on what caused the explosion, but they say, the fire is structural, not chemical. They expected still to be fighting the blaze this morning, due to its size. The building it engulfed is described as several hundred thousand square feet.
Fire-fighters strained local water supplies last night trying to quell the massive blaze in the town of Port Wentworth, just a few miles upriver from downtown Savannah. Jeff Farmberg of the town’s public works department said, some residents around the sugar refinery might not have full water service while crews are still on-scene.
"What I would like to do is ask anybody in Port Wentworth that is on the north side of I-95 that are experiencing any type of low water pressure just to deal with it for now. We’re experiencing some water pressure issues up in that area because we’re having to diver water this direction".
Tug boats on the Savannah River were helping to pump water to about forty fire-fighters working in rotating crews from aerial trucks. Traffic at the Port of Savannah was suspended and more than 5-hundred students at nearby Port Wentworth Elementary School were told to stay home today.
The explosion happened around 8pm last night in a holding area for refined sugar at the Imperial Sugar Company’s massive plant just north of Savannah. The blast sent at least eight workers to a regional burn center in Augusta and pressed into service first responders region-wide. Matthew Stanley of the Savannah Fire Department says, fire-fighters suspended their search for missing workers when it became too dangerous.
"The structure is heavily damaged. It’s just not a good area for our crews to be working, particularly at night. It’s just not safe for them. And they have searched everywhere they possibly can in the areas where they can get. Hopefully, at first light, we can get a better idea of what we’re working with and get crews back in there".
Authorities won’t speculate on what caused the explosion, but they say, the fire is structural, not chemical. They expected still to be fighting the blaze this morning, due to its size. The building it engulfed is described as several hundred thousand square feet.
Fire-fighters strained local water supplies last night trying to quell the massive blaze in the town of Port Wentworth, just a few miles upriver from downtown Savannah. Jeff Farmberg of the town’s public works department said, some residents around the sugar refinery might not have full water service while crews are still on-scene.
"What I would like to do is ask anybody in Port Wentworth that is on the north side of I-95 that are experiencing any type of low water pressure just to deal with it for now. We’re experiencing some water pressure issues up in that area because we’re having to diver water this direction".
Tug boats on the Savannah River were helping to pump water to about forty fire-fighters working in rotating crews from aerial trucks. Traffic at the Port of Savannah was suspended and more than 5-hundred students at nearby Port Wentworth Elementary School were told to stay home today.
