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American Morning
Investigators Seek Answers in Fatal North Carolina Explosion
Aired January 30, 2003 - 07:18 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Authorities in North Carolina now say three people are dead, more than two dozen injured in a massive explosion and fire at a pharmaceutical supplies plant. The devastating blast struck at the heart of the tight-knot community of Kinston.
Patty Davis is on the scene right now and has our update.
Good morning -- Patty.
PATTY DAVIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Paula.
Workers are lucky to be alive here at the West Pharmaceutical plant in Kinston, North Carolina. All now have been accounted for, some very badly burned, though.
The blast occured in the back part of the plant, I'm told, where they mix chemicals. They make plastics here for syringe plungers, for IV equipment.
Now, some of those 130 workers in the plant at the time blown off their feet. Witnesses say their first thoughts was that this was an act of terrorism or perhaps an earthquake or even a plane crash that crashed into this building. The ATF and FBI are here, but the emergency medical service is telling me this morning that they do not believe that terrorism played any role in this explosion.
Now, this morning, officials are planning to interview workers who were at the plant at the time of the explosion to find out what they know. They're trying to get to the root cause of this.
Now, this plant was cited for 30 OSHA violations last fall. They paid a $9,000 fine. The state, though, says that they did fulfill the requirements, and they are now in good standing -- Paula.
ZAHN: Patty Davis, I guess at one point, it looked a whole lot worse than that with the belief that maybe dozens would have lost their lives. So, in spite of the great loss several families endured, I guess it could have been a whole lot worse. Thanks for the update.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Explosion>
Aired January 30, 2003 - 07:18 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Authorities in North Carolina now say three people are dead, more than two dozen injured in a massive explosion and fire at a pharmaceutical supplies plant. The devastating blast struck at the heart of the tight-knot community of Kinston.
Patty Davis is on the scene right now and has our update.
Good morning -- Patty.
PATTY DAVIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Paula.
Workers are lucky to be alive here at the West Pharmaceutical plant in Kinston, North Carolina. All now have been accounted for, some very badly burned, though.
The blast occured in the back part of the plant, I'm told, where they mix chemicals. They make plastics here for syringe plungers, for IV equipment.
Now, some of those 130 workers in the plant at the time blown off their feet. Witnesses say their first thoughts was that this was an act of terrorism or perhaps an earthquake or even a plane crash that crashed into this building. The ATF and FBI are here, but the emergency medical service is telling me this morning that they do not believe that terrorism played any role in this explosion.
Now, this morning, officials are planning to interview workers who were at the plant at the time of the explosion to find out what they know. They're trying to get to the root cause of this.
Now, this plant was cited for 30 OSHA violations last fall. They paid a $9,000 fine. The state, though, says that they did fulfill the requirements, and they are now in good standing -- Paula.
ZAHN: Patty Davis, I guess at one point, it looked a whole lot worse than that with the belief that maybe dozens would have lost their lives. So, in spite of the great loss several families endured, I guess it could have been a whole lot worse. Thanks for the update.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Explosion>
