Explosion Tears Through Sugar Plant

abc2 ^ | 08.February, 2008 | Adrienne Welsch

[DB]

I thought sugar needed nitrate added in order to be explosive.

Obviously I don’t know...

[Chickenhawk Warmonger]

According to local TV - 19 people have been transported or in the transit to the Augusta Burn Center with burns over at least 25% of their body. There are approx 40 people hospitalized in Savannah hospitals. Reports of 6 or 9 people are still missing. Fires are still burning.

As soon as I can find a link to most current news online I’ll post it.

[Vision]

Terrible.

[najida]

I used to go through mass disaster drills, but I’ve never seen so many ambulances in one place.

I’ve been on the phone all morning with my brother calling in.....checking up on different folks we know. A good friend that I knew from childhood used to work as an evening supervisor....so I was freaking.

She wasn’t there, she was at port distribution.

[najida]

Thanks for the update. My brother called to let me know that some of the folks we know either weren’t working there last night or were at another area.

[najida]

Sugar dust is very flammable from what we’re hearing.

Think about it, how quickly does sugar smoke on the stove? Or how easy is it to burn something like cinnamon toast??

[Chickenhawk Warmonger]

Per FOX News Press Conference scheduled for 0930 EST. The authorities are briefing the families of the missing workers now.

[najida]

I’m going to be out for a bit, please keep me posted. I dread driving by the entrance this morning.

[Chickenhawk Warmonger]

Per Fox News - 3 bodies have been found at the Sugar Refinery. There are still at least 3 missing.

At the earlier press conference the police stated that this is now a recovery operation. The building is so unstable the firefighters are having a difficult time.

According to an eyewitness, the top of one of the Silos was blown across the river in the explosion. That’s why they were concentrating the search in the river last night. They are still searching the river today.

Will keep you updated as it comes in.

[najida]

That’s what I feared.

Thanks for the update.

[Abigail Adams]

Thanks for the update. Sad news!

[Abigail Adams]

I found this on the Fox News web site:

PORT WENTWORTH, Ga. — Six people are dead, and up to 20 people are missing after an explosion at a sugar refinery.

Georgia fire officials told FOX News that six bodies have been found in the refinery.

Savannah Police Chief Michael Berkow said Friday he could not say exactly how many were missing. . . .

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

Not at all. Any type of powder or dust can be explosive if there’s enough of it. Grain elevator explosions were common years ago. Due to the high pressure at the bottom of the mass from a build up of unreleased kinetic energy, one static spark would set off most types of stored powder, dust, or grains. Better grounding, ventilation, and storage has reduced these incidents.

What happened at the sugar plant is anybody’s guess at this time. Most manufacturing plants where airborne powder is a factor have large dust extraction systems to prevent explosions like this one.

[najida]

http://www.wsbtv.com/news/15249582/detail.html?treets=atl&tml=atl_natlbreak&ts=T&tmi=atl_natlbreak_1_11070502082008

Six bodies found.

Today has been the pits. :(

[Amelia]

WTOC just showed a news conference with the police & fire out there, and they emphasized FOUR confirmed fatalities right now (had just found a 4th body, maybe about 4 pm?) and 4 still missing.

I had been seeing the six bodies figure earlier, so now I’m confused...of course, this morning they said there were only 6 people still missing...

[najida]

I’m confused too,
though granted, what I’m hearing is different.

All day it was 6 missing, then 3 bodies found-— the other 3 assumed dead in another part of the building. Now four with 4 missing?

BTW, I live next to my county’s fire department and the trucks are still out as of 6:30p.

[Amelia]

You’re a lot closer to it than I am, and sometimes “word on the street” runs ahead of “official word”. I just got the impression that the police chief was emphasizing the “FOUR bodies” to correct some mistake in the earlier reporting that said six.

I knew that when I left for work this morning they were saying 6-9 still unaccounted for, and they thought some of them might have driven themselves to the hospital or otherwise be okay.

Our neighbor’s nephew works out there and I wanted to ask about him, but our neighbor isn’t home yet...which isn’t all that unusual or I’d regard it as a bad sign.