1 dead, at least 73 hurt in La. plant explosion

Stacey Plaisance | Associated Press

GEISMAR, La. (AP) — A ground-rattling explosion at a chemical plant in Louisiana ignited a blaze that killed at least one person and injured dozens of others. Louisiana's health department says 73 people were treated at hospitals for injuries ranging from minor to critical following the Thursday morning explosion.

State police Capt. Doug Cain says a body was found by hazardous materials crews going through the aftermath of the blast at the facility owned by The Williams Companies Inc., based in Tulsa, Okla.

Cain says all workers had been accounted for by Thursday afternoon.

The company said the blast happened at 8:37 a.m. at the plant in an industrial area of Geismar, a Mississippi River community about 20 miles southeast of Baton Rouge. The cause was not immediately known.