Macedonia officials provided an update on Wednesday afternoon in what is being called a "tragic industrial accident" involving a tank explosion with sodium hydroxide.
The explosion happened on Wednesday morning at Royal Chemical in the 8000 block of South Freeway Drive. Upon arriving at the scene, fire officials found a tanker truck ripped in half from the explosion.
Macedonia Fire Chief Brian Ripley told 3News' Kaitor Kay that three tanker trucks were lined up side by side outside of the plant. Workers were loading up a truck when one of them exploded, ripping it in half.
Ripley says three people were injured in the incident. Two individuals were taken to MetroHealth in Cleveland -- one of the victims sustained life-threatening burns and another is in critical condition.
"Right now, we are working to contain the environment. We believe it went into a small creek located on the east side of the building," said Ripley, who expects officials to be cleaning up for hours.
Ripley noted that the spill was contained to company property and that both buildings of Royal Chemical were evacuated.
At this time, the cause of the explosion is still under investigation. Ripley said officials do know that the incident involved sodium hydroxide, a highly corrosive and hazardous material.
According to the Macedonia Police Department, South Freeway Drive is closed in both directions in the area of Royal Chemical due to the explosion. Macedonia Mayor Nick Molnar says the road should be reopened before the end of the day on Wednesday.
3News' Kaitor Kay reports.: www.wkyc.com/article/news/loc... --
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