Eight hurt, one missing after explosion, fire at Ohio paint plant

Eight people were hurt and one person is unaccounted for after an explosion and second-alarm fire at an Ohio paint plant early Thursday.

About 40 employees were working just after midnight when the blast occurred in one of five buildings on Yenkin-Majestic Paint’s campus in Columbus, officials said.

While most of the employees came out of the building as firefighters arrived on the scene, authorities learned two were trapped, according to Columbus Division of Fire Battalion Chief Steve Martin.

They were eventually rescued and taken to Ohio State University Hospital with critical injuries, he said. Six others were stable.

Another person was still missing even though crews had “been through all of the building,” the fire department said in a statement.

The other four buildings on the paint plant’s campus were empty at the time of the explosion and fire. The facility is in an industrial area.

The exact cause of the explosion and blaze are under investigation, but there were a lot of chemicals in the building, Martin said.