At least 1 killed in Kan. grain elevator blast

ATCHISON, Kan.?? A thunderous explosion Saturday at a northeast Kansas grain elevator left at least one person dead and several other people missing and injured, authorities said.

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The blast shook the ground for miles around and sent a fireball high into the night sky that was visible across the river in Missouri.

Sheriff John Calhoon was unable to give an exact number of fatalities, but confirmed at least one had died. The president of Bartlett Grain, the company that owns the grain elevator, also said there were fatalities but could not say how many.

Atchison City Manager Trey Cocking said several people remained unaccounted for with search and rescue efforts under way. He did not know exactly how many people, or whether they were employees.

Two injured victims were in critical condition in the burn unit at the University of Kansas Hospital in Kansas City, Kan., about 50 miles south of the blast site at the Bartlett Grain Co. elevator in Atchison, Kan., hospital spokesman Dennis McCulloch said.

The cause of the explosion was not immediately known, though grain elevator mishaps often occur after grain dust becomes suspended in the air and turns explosive in the right conditions. In its news release, the city said rescue operations "can be difficult because workers are often scattered throughout the facility, making them difficult to locate."

Several area police and firefighting agencies were on the scene late Saturday, and fire crews were seen pumping water onto the wreckage well into the night.

The explosion could be seen and felt across Atchison, a town of about 11,000 people known as the birthplace of aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart.

Across the river in Buchanan County, Mo., a sheriff's dispatcher said their office took numerous calls from residents saying they could hear the explosion deep into the county. The St. Joseph, Mo., News-Press reported the blast sent up a fireball that could be seen well away from the site.

Randy Burton, an employee at the Quick Stop East convenience store in Atchison about two miles from the elevator, said the explosion "shook our whole building."

"All I saw was a flash and then the building shook really good," Burton said. "Some things fell off our shelves."

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45092838/ns/us_news-life/

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