Workers were heating coal when deadly explosion rocked Pennsylvania steel plant

CLAIRTON, Pa. (AP) — Workers were heating coal into a key component of steelmaking and preparing for maintenance when an explosion rocked a U.S. Steel plant outside Pittsburgh , a company executive said Tuesday, a day after the blast killed two workers.

The explosion , which was powerful enough to shake nearby homes, injured more than 10 other steelworkers, including one who spent hours trapped in rubble. It also knocked down a wall, scorched a pickup truck and sent a huge plume of black smoke into the air.

Initially, the plant’s own fire department and local responders rescued some of the workers. When it was determined that the area was not stable enough for those efforts to continue, a specialized rescue team went in, said Matthew Brown, chief of Allegheny County Emergency Serv