An explosion Monday at a U.S. Steel coking plant near Pittsburgh has left dozens wounded and people trapped under the rubble, with emergency workers on site trying to rescue them, officials said. Stream live news coverage from sister station WTAE in the video player above.Multiple people have been injured at the Clairton Coke Works, but the extent of those injuries is unknown, said Abigail Gardner, director of communications for Allegheny County.The Allegheny County Emergency Services said a fire at the plant started around 10:51 a.m. and that it has transported five people. Helicopter footage below shows heavy smoke rising from the scene as fire crews battle flames. The plant is located along the bank of the Monongahela River, approximately 20 miles south of Pittsburgh in Clairton, Pennsylvania. The plant is the largest coke manufacturing facility in the U.S. and operates 10 coke oven batteries and produces approximately 4.3 million tons of coke annually, according to U.S. Steel.Video below: Construction worker says blast ‘felt like thunder’Zachary Buday, who was working close to the scene during the explosion, spoke to WTAE about what he witnessed.”Felt like thunder. Shook the scaffold, shook my chest, then shook the building. Then we saw the smoke coming up from the steel mill,” Buday said.He said he didn’t see fire, but spotted the black smoke that was rising from the area.Video below: Timelapse captured moment US Steel Clairton plant explodedIn recent years, the Clairton plant has been dogged by concerns about pollution. In 2019, it agreed to settle a 2017 lawsuit for $8.5 million. Under the settlement, the company agreed to spend $6.5 million to reduce soot emissions and noxious odors from the Clairton coke-making facility.The company also faced other lawsuits over pollution from the Clairton facility, including ones accusing the company of violating clean air laws after a December 2018 fire damaged the Clairton facility’s sulfur pollution controls. Video below: Clairton Mayor Rich Lattanzi speaks after explosion
An explosion Monday at a U.S. Steel coking plant near Pittsburgh has left dozens wounded and people trapped under the rubble, with emergency workers on site trying to rescue them, officials said.
Stream live news coverage from sister station WTAE in the video player above.
Multiple people have been injured at the Clairton Coke Works, but the extent of those injuries is unknown, said Abigail Gardner, director of communications for Allegheny County.
The Allegheny County Emergency Services said a fire at the plant started around 10:51 a.m. and that it has transported five people.
Helicopter footage below shows heavy smoke rising from the scene as fire crews battle flames.
The plant is located along the bank of the Monongahela River, approximately 20 miles south of Pittsburgh in Clairton, Pennsylvania.
The plant is the largest coke manufacturing facility in the U.S. and operates 10 coke oven batteries and produces approximately 4.3 million tons of coke annually, according to U.S. Steel.
Video below: Construction worker says blast ‘felt like thunder’
Zachary Buday, who was working close to the scene during the explosion, spoke to WTAE about what he witnessed.
“Felt like thunder. Shook the scaffold, shook my chest, then shook the building. Then we saw the smoke coming up from the steel mill,” Buday said.
He said he didn’t see fire, but spotted the black smoke that was rising from the area.
Video below: Timelapse captured moment US Steel Clairton plant exploded
In recent years, the Clairton plant has been dogged by concerns about pollution. In 2019, it agreed to settle a 2017 lawsuit for $8.5 million. Under the settlement, the company agreed to spend $6.5 million to reduce soot emissions and noxious odors from the Clairton coke-making facility.
The company also faced other lawsuits over pollution from the Clairton facility, including ones accusing the company of violating clean air laws after a December 2018 fire damaged the Clairton facility’s sulfur pollution controls.
Video below: Clairton Mayor Rich Lattanzi speaks after explosion
