A boiler explosion at Loy Lange Box in St. Louis spewed debris through several various buildings. The blast itself killed one person, but van sized piece of debris ejected through the Loy Lange Box, traveling 500 feet, killed two more people.

The boiler that exploded was weighed at two thousand pounds. Another employee of Loy Lange Box has been hospitalized in a critical, but stable condition. Another person, Kenneth Trentham, a Loy Lange Box engineer also died as a result of the blast. Kenneth was one of three engineers at the Loy Lange Box that was able to operate on the boilers.

Another building was demolished when a pipe from the boiler explosion was penetrated through the building’s roof. Although the pipe went through one of the building’s rooms, luckily there were no recorded injuries from that event. St. Louis Fire Chief Dennis Jenkerson stated, “The Loy Lange boiler was used to provide steam for the entire factory, it was unclear whether it recently had undergone maintenance”.

Officials are still unsure what caused the boiler explosion. It is unclear if there was someone that was working on the boiler at the time of the accident.