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| Scores injured in US sugar blast | Scores injured in US sugar blast |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Up to 100 people have been injured, more than 30 of them critically, in an explosion at a sugar refinery in the US state of Georgia, officials have said. | Up to 100 people have been injured, more than 30 of them critically, in an explosion at a sugar refinery in the US state of Georgia, officials have said. |
| The blast at Imperial Sugar in Port Wentworth, a suburb of the coastal town of Savannah, is believed to have been caused by the ignition of sugar dust. | The blast at Imperial Sugar in Port Wentworth, a suburb of the coastal town of Savannah, is believed to have been caused by the ignition of sugar dust. |
| Police said the damage at the refinery, where some 200 people were reportedly working at the time, was "extensive". | Police said the damage at the refinery, where some 200 people were reportedly working at the time, was "extensive". |
| No deaths have been reported, but at least eight people are unaccounted for. | No deaths have been reported, but at least eight people are unaccounted for. |
| Family members of the workers later gathered at a church across the street from the refinery, anxious for news about their loved ones. | Family members of the workers later gathered at a church across the street from the refinery, anxious for news about their loved ones. |
| The chief executive of Imperial Sugar, John Sheptor, said the explosion had occurred at around 1920 (0020 GMT) in a silo where refined sugar was stored until being packaged. | The chief executive of Imperial Sugar, John Sheptor, said the explosion had occurred at around 1920 (0020 GMT) in a silo where refined sugar was stored until being packaged. |
| "As far as we know, it was a sugar dust explosion," he said. | "As far as we know, it was a sugar dust explosion," he said. |
| Sugar dust can explode if it is mixed with air in a cloud formation at a sufficient concentration and ignited by a thermal or electrical source. | Sugar dust can explode if it is mixed with air in a cloud formation at a sufficient concentration and ignited by a thermal or electrical source. |
| 'Loud boom' | |
| Nakishya Hill, a machine operator who escaped from the third floor of the refinery, said the explosion had set much of the site on fire. | Nakishya Hill, a machine operator who escaped from the third floor of the refinery, said the explosion had set much of the site on fire. |
| "All I know is, I heard a loud boom and everything came down," she told Associated Press news agency. | "All I know is, I heard a loud boom and everything came down," she told Associated Press news agency. |
| Half of the floor was gone - the second floor was debris, the first floor was debris Nakishya Hill,machine operator | |
| "When I got up, I went down and found a couple of people and we climbed out of there from the third floor to the first floor. Half of the floor was gone. The second floor was debris, the first floor was debris," she said. | "When I got up, I went down and found a couple of people and we climbed out of there from the third floor to the first floor. Half of the floor was gone. The second floor was debris, the first floor was debris," she said. |
| "All I could do when I got down was take off running." | "All I could do when I got down was take off running." |
| Dr Jay Goldstein of the Memorial University Medical Center in Savannah said between 30 to 35 patients were being treated for "significant burns" and were in a critical condition. | Dr Jay Goldstein of the Memorial University Medical Center in Savannah said between 30 to 35 patients were being treated for "significant burns" and were in a critical condition. |
| "We've seen people that have had burns to their hands all the way to about 80 to 90% of their body," he said, adding that some had been transported by helicopter to a specialist burns unit in Atlanta. | "We've seen people that have had burns to their hands all the way to about 80 to 90% of their body," he said, adding that some had been transported by helicopter to a specialist burns unit in Atlanta. |