CLAIRTON, Pa. (AP) — After an explosion rocked a steel plant outside Pittsburgh, workers scrambled into the wreckage alongside firefighters. A cloud of black smoke rose above a charred pickup truck as rescuers sprayed the scene with streams of water.
By the time the scene was secure, two people were dead and more than 10 others were injured, including one who spent hours trapped in rubble left Monday by the blast that was powerful enough to shake nearby homes.
Video from Pittsburgh television station WTAE showed workers in orange jumpsuits and hard hats running toward the wreckage at the U.S. Steel coking plant in Clairton. A reporter described seeing someone being pulled from the debris and loaded onto a gurney. The station’s footage later showed a mountain of charred rubble spilling from a hole left by demolished walls.
Investigators worked Tuesday to determine the cause of the blast, which jolted a region of the state synonymous with steel for more than a century. The county medical examiner’s office identified one of the dead as Timothy Quinn, 39. A second worker was not identified, with his family requesting privacy.
County Executive Sara Innamorato told reporters she had assurances from U.S. Steel that the company would continue to cooperate fully with investigators.
“We all share a common goal. We want to get to the bottom of what happened, and we want to prevent it from happening ever again,” Innamorato said.
Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro said steelworkers deserve “an answer for what happened. We owe them an answer to their questions, and we owe them for their sacrifices.”
Shapiro described Quinn as a devoted father of three who served as a mentor and leader to other workers. He was a second-generation steelworker, following in his father’s footsteps, and a “mama’s boy” who after working long shifts would take care of his mother and look after his children and his girlfriend’s two children.
“His life was cut too short because of what happened here at this plant,” Shapiro said.
Deanna Forkey was working behind the counter at the Hometown Burgers & Deli, which her family owns, near the plant when she heard the explosion. She said the restaurant door popped open.
“When I looked out, all you could see was black smoke,” she said. “Explosions over there aren’t really uncommon. We hear them a lot. But that one obviously was much worse.”
She said many plant workers are regulars at the restaurant.
“You start to build a little bit of a relationship,” Forkey said. “So it kind of pulls a little harder at the heartstrings.”
Investigating the blast’s cause
Speaking to reporters Monday, U.S. Steel’s chief manufacturing officer, Scott Buckiso, gave no details about the damage or casualties.
The Allegheny County Police Department said five people were hospitalized in critical but stable condition Monday night, and five others were treated and released. Other individuals were treated for injuries at the scene, but the department said it did not have an exact number.
According to the company, the plant has approximately 1,400 workers.
