Fire chief: 3 die, 4 hurt when boiler explodes in St. Louis

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Three people were killed and four others injured today when an explosion launched a boiler the size of a van through the roof a St. Louis box company and slammed much of it down hundreds of feet away in a neighboring laundry business, the fire chief said.

One person died in the blast about 8 a.m. at the Loy-Lange Box Co. and two more were killed when a large piece of the boiler crashed into the Faultless Healthcare Linen building's office area, Fire Chief Dennis Jenkerson said.

Investigators were trying to pinpoint what caused the boiler to explode at the building in a largely industrial area of south St. Louis, Jenkerson said.

Two of four survivors are critically injured, including a linen company worker who was found pinned beneath the boiler, which Jenkerson said was roughly 4 feet in diameter and 10 feet long.

He said the boiler was still hot when rescuers arrived and that it had traveled up to 500 feet.

None of the victims' names have been released.

A third building was damaged when a piece of pipe – about 8 feet long – linked to the explosion went through its roof, Jenkerson said.

While at least initially believing the explosion was accidental, Jenkerson said investigators will seek out and review the boiler's inspection and maintenance records.

It was not immediately clear if anyone was working on the boiler at the time of the blast.