No deaths have been reported yet at the plant owned by Imperial Sugar, known as a longtime Savannah landmark as the Dixie Crystals plant. Witnesses describe widespread damage, and firefighters are still battling the blaze four hours after the explosion, including using water from a boat on the the Savannah River.
Chief Michael Berkow of the Savannah-Chatham County police says there were 95-100 people believed to be working in the area, and six were unaccounted for after 11 p.m..
Imperial Sugar CEO says it appears to have been a ``sugar dust explosion.'' He said it happened in a storage silo where refined sugar is stored until it is packaged.
Berkow said at least 40 people were taken to area hospitals, and eight of them were airlifed to a burn center in Augusta 130 miles up the Savannah River.
Nakishya Hill, a machine operator, said she escaped from the third floor by climbing down to the first. Hill said there was fire all over the building. She heard a loud boom, and when she got up, half of the floor was gone. She said the first and second floors were covered in debris.
Dr. Jay Goldstein, an emergency room physician at Memorial University Medical Center, said there are 30 patients being treated for ``significant burns.
A triage center was set up at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in Port Wentworth and at a nearby school.
Imperial Sugar, based in Sugar Land, Texas, acquired Savannah Foods & Industries, the producer of Dixie Crystals, in 1997. The aquisition doubled the size of the company, making it the largest processor and refiner of sugar in the U.S., according to the company Web site.
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