Three people were killed and four others are injured after a boiler exploded in St. Louis on April 3. Fire department officials said the accident at the Loy-Lange Box Co., launched the boiler 500 feet before it crashed through the roof of the nearby Faultless Healthcare Linen business.

St. Louis Fire Chief Dennis Jenkerson said one person was killed at a box company, and two more at the laundry business. A third person at the laundry facility was pinned under the boiler, but fire department responders were able to free that victim.

The injured were taken to the hospital with two in critical condition and two in serious condition, the St. Louis Fire Department said.

A third building was damaged when a piece of pipe about 8 feet long linked to the explosion went through its roof, Jenkerson said. Other debris was found on the street.

Jenkerson said the cast-iron boiler was about 8 or 9 feet long and 4 feet in diameter, weighing about 1½ tons.

Jenkerson told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that the explosion seems to have been accidental and that investigators will review machine maintenance records.

Federal workplace safety officials are also investigating.

More details here.

Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch