2 dead in explosion at Kentucky factory that also damaged surrounding neighborhood

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Two employees have died following an explosion at a Louisville, Kentucky, factory that caused a partial collapse of the building and blew out windows in nearby homes and businesses, the company said Wednesday.

The explosion occurred Tuesday afternoon at Givaudan Sense Colour, which produces colorings for food and drinks.

“We are grieving with the families, friends, and loved ones of those that were lost and injured during this very difficult time,” the company said in a statement.

Firefighters rescued and evacuated many people from the building, including some with life-threatening injuries, Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said in a statement Tuesday night. Greenberg said officials have accounted for everyone who was working at the plant at the time.

It was earlier reported that at least 11 employees were taken to hospitals.

The cause was under investigation. Greenberg said officials spoke to employees inside the plant and they “initially conveyed that everything was normal activity when the explosion occurred.”

The company said that it was in the early stages of investigating the cause and it is cooperating with authorities.

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“We appreciate their heroic response and send our thanks to those in the community who have shown their support throughout the day,” the company said.

Patrick Livers lives in a neighborhood immediately across the railroad tracks from the plant. He was at work when his mother, who had picked up his children from school and was bringing them home, called to say his home had been damaged by the explosion.

“I was like, ‘What are you talking about?’ Then she showed me the video. I was like, ‘Oh you’ve got to be kidding me,” he said.

Livers said no one was home at the time. He said the explosion blew out windows up and down his street.

“The house is still standing. It’s just structural damage. If it was on a wall, it’s on the floor,” he said. “All the neighbors’ windows busted out, doors blown in. It looked like a small tornado went off inside the house.”

Steve Parobek was at work when the blast blew out the kitchen window in his apartment a block from the plant. He arrived home and found his cat safe and used two pizza boxes and some duct tape to cover his window as temperatures dropped steadily Tuesday night.

The Louisville Fire Department was leading the investigation as of Tuesday night with help from state and federal partners. A reconstruction team from Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was headed to Louisville to help determine the cause of the explosion.

In April 2003, an explosion at the same location killed a worker at a caramel-coloring plant owned by D.D. Williamson & Co. Givaudan acquired the plant from D.D. Williamson in 2021.

Federal investigators determined a pressure relief valve on a tank had been removed when the company moved the tank to its Louisville plant in 1989. The tank exploded because there was no relief valve, according to a report from the Chemical Safety Board.

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Associated Press journalists John Raby and Bruce Schreiner contributed to this report.