UPDATE 1:43 p.m. : Paducah Police Department has confirmed the explosion at Darling Ingredients Inc. in Paducah. They said one employee sustained minor injuries and was taken to a local hospital for treatment. Paducah public information officer Pam Spencer said in a release that North 10th Street between Fluornoy and Northview Streets is currently closed to traffic. She said Atmos Energy has capped the gas connection to the plant for safety precautions and that work is underway to inspect the structural integrity of the damaged section of the building. She said seventeen employees and the plant manager were working at the plant at the time of the explosion.
Crews are responding to an explosion at a pet food processing plant in western Kentucky that injured a worker. Paducah Fire Department spokeswoman Pam Spencer told West Kentucky Star that a boiler exploded, injuring one worker, though not seriously, and sending debris across the street.
Emergency crews have set up a two-block perimeter around the scene, though Spencer said there's no longer any immediate danger.
For safety precautions, Atmos Energy has capped the gas connection to the plant. Work is underway to inspect the structural integrity of the damaged section of the building.
