More than a dozen people reportedly have been injured following an explosion on Monday afternoon at a metal manufacturing plant in Bedford, Ohio, a suburb just 14 miles from downtown Cleveland.
A “significant blast has taken place” at the metal factory, according to a report by Fox 3 Now, which added that emergency services have requested for several medical helicopters to be deployed, and the majority of the local fire departments are on the scene.
“The incident is believed to have potentially resulted in multiple casualties,” the outlet initially reported, later updating the story to say that “a minimum of 14 individuals” had been hospitalized, including one individual in critical condition.
Ambulances were seen at I Schumann & Co., a business that is a brass and bronze alloy manufacturer, according to a report by News 5 Cleveland.
Video footage taken from a nearby highway shows thick smoke billowing into the sky.
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It remains unclear what caused the explosion, as well as how many casualties and injuries were suffered as a result.
The explosion at the metal factory in Bedford comes as the state of Ohio is already grappling with the aftermath of a train derailment that occurred two weeks ago in East Palestine, which is about 70 miles southeast of Bedford.
The train derailment in East Palestine resulted in Ohio authorities conducting a controlled detonation to try to get rid of the toxic chemicals, which resulted in a dark plume of smoke in the sky, captured in photographs that were later circulated across social media.
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