Workers and firefighters rushed into the debris after an explosion rocked a steel factory west of Pittsburgh on Monday. As rescuers sprayed torrents of water on the site, a cloud of black smoke began to rise over a burnt pickup truck.
By the time the site was safe, two people had died and over ten others had been hurt, including one who had been trapped under rubble from Monday’s explosion, which was strong enough to rock neighboring houses.
Workers in orange jumpsuits and hard hats were seen sprinting toward the debris at the U.S. Steel coking plant in Clairton in footage from Pittsburgh television station WTAE. One reporter reported witnessing a person being hauled from the wreckage and placed on a gurney. Later, images from the station showed a mound of burned debris pouring out of a hole created by the destroyed walls.
Timothy Quinn, 39, was recognized as one of the deceased by the county medical examiner’s office. A second employee was not named because his family requested anonymity.
Steelworkers should be held accountable for what transpired, according to Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro.We owe them for their sacrifices, and we owe them an answer to their questions.
Quinn was a loving father of three who led and mentored other employees, according to Shapiro. Following in his father’s footsteps, he was a second-generation steelworker and a mama’s boy who would look after his mother and his two children with his partner after long workdays.
“What happened here at this plant cut his life too short,” Shapiro said.
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