Colebrook (U.S.), May 15: Multiple explosions at a gun and ammunition manufacturing plant in far northern New Hampshire killed two people, shook buildings blocks away, filled the sky with black smoke and forced the evacuation of dozens of homes.
State Fire Marshal Bill Degnan confirmed the deaths at the MDM Muzzleloader building in Colebrook. He said the fire was burning more than four hours after the explosion was reported on Friday.
“We’re just getting into the investigation and trying to determine the details,” he said.
The blasts started just after 1 pm (1700 GMT).
Fire-fighters were unable to get close enough to fight the blaze initially because ammunition was still going off more than two hours after the initial blast, said Mia West, Colebrook’s public information officer.
About 40 nearby homes were evacuated, and some residents reported hearing the explosion up to 2.4 km away, West said. A shelter was being set up at the town offices.
“We did hear two distinct bangs,” said Karen Ladd, editor and publisher of The News and Sentinel in Colebrook. She thought something had hit the roof of her building. “It knocked a picture off of my wall, right next to my desk. I will admit I panicked and I said, ‘Get out!’”
Several communities in New Hampshire and Vermont sent fire crews.
—-PTI