Explosion At Chicago Water Reclamation Plant Injures 10

An explosion at a water reclamation plant in Chicago on August 30 appears to have been caused by methane gas ignited by a worker’s welding torch.

“A worker's torch set off an explosion of methane gas at a Far South Side water treatment plant, sending rubble crashing down,” The Chicago Tribune reported, citing fire officials.

The explosion took place around 11 a.m. while workers were doing maintenance work in the sludge concentration building at the Calumet Water Reclamation Plant. Part of the plant collapsed in the explosion, according to CNN.

“Two people were trapped and were excavated from the building, and a total of 10 people were injured and transported to local hospitals,” the report stated.

“Eight workers were able to make it out on their own. One of the trapped workers was rescued about 20 minutes later. The second worker was ‘buried and entombed’ by fallen debris and it took firefighters two hours to free him, according to Fire Commissioner Jose Santiago on the scene,” the report stated.

Fire officials say the explosion occurred when a worker was using a torch near a significant amount of methane gas, according to the Associated Press. The explosion lifted the roof off the building and prompted the collapse.

Chicago Fire Department said the cause of the explosion was accidental and was the result of human error, ABC 7 Chicago reported.

The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago issued a statement about the events, per NBC News.

“The MWRD is extremely grateful for the tremendous effort put forth by the Chicago Fire Department and other emergency responders in extricating the two trapped workers and attending to all of the injured,” the agency said in a statement.

Calumet is the oldest of seven MWRD treatment facilities, according to the agency.