Corn Mill Explosion in Wisconsin Kills Three, Injures 11

Three workers were killed and about 11 others were injured after an explosion at a Cambria, WI corn mill Wednesday night.

The explosion occurred at the Didion Milling Plant in Cambria at about 11 p.m. Wednesday, prompting the response of several neighboring fire and police departments. Cambria Village President said in a CBS News article that the fire was brought under control early Thursday, but the blast destroyed the structure.

“I got a phone call from my brother. I called a coworker who is another lab tech. They were trapped inside. A big explosion happened, then everything just collapsed,” a Didion employee, Nayeli Hernandez said in an interview with television news station WISC.

Only two of 16 workers at the site of the time of the explosion were evacuated from the facility without injuries, Sheriff Dennis Roberts told news wire service UPI.

An email sent to the Associated Press by Vice President of Operations Derrick Clark at Didion said the cause of the blast remains unclear and affirmed the company’s cooperation with local authorities.

The plant was cited in 2011 by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for dust explosion and fire hazards, and the agency ordered the company to pay a $3,500 fine, the Associated Press reported.

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