MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Crews on Friday recovered the body of a third worker from the ruins of a corn mill in southern Wisconsin, two days after an explosion at the facility.
Didion Milling Plant executive Derrick Clark says the worker’s body was found in the rubble of the plant in Cambria. The first victim was found a short time after Wednesday’s explosion. Another body was recovered Thursday.
The blast occurred late Wednesday at the Didion Milling Plant in Cambria, a rural village about 45 miles (72 kilometers) northeast of Madison. Nearly a dozen workers were taken to hospitals following the explosion and fire, which also leveled parts of the plant.
The cause of explosion remained unclear Friday. A smaller fire occurred in a different part of the facility on Monday, and investigators were working to determine whether it may be linked to Wednesday’s explosion, said Cambria Fire Chief Cody Doucette.
The plant was reprimanded by federal safety inspectors in 2011 for not taking precautions against dust explosions, which are a major hazard in handling grain, according to U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration records. OSHA investigators are investigating the latest fire.