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Injured workers improving after explosion near Atchison

An explosion about 2 p.m. at GBW Rail Services, 15624 258th Road southwest of Atchison, Kan., sent six workers to the hospital. Fire and medical responders told officials that a rail car, possibly containing gasoline, exploded. The force of the blast on Thursday, Dec. 11, 2014, was evident by panels blown from the building.
An explosion about 2 p.m. at GBW Rail Services, 15624 258th Road southwest of Atchison, Kan., sent six workers to the hospital. Fire and medical responders told officials that a rail car, possibly containing gasoline, exploded. The force of the blast on Thursday, Dec. 11, 2014, was evident by panels blown from the building. Keith Myers The Kansas City Star
ATCHISON, Kan.

The two people most seriously injured Thursday in a railcar explosion in northeast Kansas are improving at a Kansas hospital.

The men were among at least seven people hurt when the railcar exploded at GBW Rail Services west of Atchison. A spokesman for the University of Kansas Hospital said early Friday that the men’s condition had been upgraded to fair.

The Kansas State Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating the cause of the accident.

Atchison County Sheriff Jack Laurie says the rail car exploded inside a building. The 16 or 17 employees in the area were all accounted for after the explosion.

GBW official Jack Isselman said the explosion happened in an area where rail car surfaces are prepared for painting.

The Associated Press

This story was originally published December 12, 2014 at 10:26 AM with the headline "Injured workers improving after explosion near Atchison."

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