ATCHISON, Kan. ? An explosion at a northeast Kansas grain elevator injured at least two people Saturday, shaking the ground for miles around and sending a fireball high into the night sky that was visible across the river in Missouri, authorities said.
The two injured victims were in critical condition in the burn unit at the University of Kansas Hospital in Kansas City, Kan., about 50 miles south of the blast site at the Bartlett Grain Co. elevator in Atchison, Kan., hospital spokesman Dennis McCulloch said.
A news release from Atchison city officials said multiple injuries were reported, but that authorities were withholding details pending notification of families. A spokeswoman for Atchison Hospital, TC Roberts, said the hospital had not treated any patients from the explosion and didn't expect to receive any.
The cause of the explosion was not immediately known, though grain elevator mishaps often occur after grain dust becomes suspended in the air and turns explosive in the right conditions. In its news release, the city said rescue operations "can be difficult because workers are often scattered throughout the facility, making them difficult to locate."
Several area police and firefighting agencies were on the scene late Saturday, and fire crews were seen pumping water onto the wreckage well into the night.
The explosion could be seen and felt across Atchison, a town of about 11,000 people known as the birthplace of aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart.
Across the river in Buchanan County, Mo., a sheriff's dispatcher said their office took numerous calls from residents saying they could hear the explosion deep into the county. The St. Joseph, Mo., News-Press reported the blast sent up a fireball that could be seen well away from the site.
Randy Burton, an employee at the Quick Stop East convenience store in Atchison about two miles from the elevator, said the explosion "shook our whole building."
"All I saw was a flash and then the building shook really good," Burton said. "Some things fell off our shelves."
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