Explosion at Louisville plant leaves 12 people injured

At least 12 people were taken to hospitals and residents were urged to shelter in place on Tuesday after an explosion at a Louisville, Kentucky, business.

The Louisville Metro Emergency Services reported on social media a “hazardous materials incident” at 1901 Payne St., in Louisville. The address belongs to a facility operated by Givaudan Sense Colour, a manufacturer of food colorings for soft drinks and other products, according to officials and online records.

Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said emergency teams responded to the blast around 3 p.m. The explosion blew out windows in nearby buildings. Overhead news video footage showed an industrial building with a large hole in its roof.

“The cause at this point of the explosion is unknown,” Greenberg said in a news conference. No one died in the explosion, he added.

Seven people were taken to UofL Hospital. Two were in critical condition as of Tuesday night, a spokesperson for the hospital said. Five patients were transported to Baptist East Hospital, according to a spokesperson for the Louisville Metro Emergency Services.

Greenberg said officials spoke to employees inside the plant. “They have initially conveyed that everything was normal activity when the explosion occurred,” he said.

Tyler McClain, a resident who lives about a mile away from the business, told CBS News he was in his house when he heard a “huge explosion. My whole house shook.”

The Louisville Metro Emergency Services first urged people within a mile of the business to shelter in place, but that order was lifted in the afternoon. An evacuation order for the two surrounding blocks around the site of the explosion was still in place Tuesday afternoon.