Industrial Accidents Nebraska

Power was restored to downtown and residential areas of Omaha after a blackout caused by an explosion in a transformer vault that also knocked out telephone operator service to parts of three states. Three telephone workers who were replacing a switching unit were critically burned. About 13,000 volts of electricity were running through the underground equipment when a flash fire sparked the explosion, forcing the evacuation of neighboring US West Communications and AT&T buildings, officials said.

Huge storage silos lay crumbled on the ground and sugar was scattered up to a mile away Sunday after an explosion described as a ball of blue flames ripped through a major sugar refinery. One person was missing and 15 others were injured, one critically. The cause of the blast was not immediately known, but the blast followed a bolt of lightning, one witness said. Company officials said sugar dust might have been ignited. About 150 people work at the Western Sugar Co.

Huge storage silos lay crumbled on the ground and sugar was scattered up to a mile away Sunday after an explosion described as a ball of blue flames ripped through a major sugar refinery. One person was missing and 15 others were injured, one critically. The cause of the blast was not immediately known, but the blast followed a bolt of lightning, one witness said. Company officials said sugar dust might have been ignited. About 150 people work at the Western Sugar Co.

Power was restored to downtown and residential areas of Omaha after a blackout caused by an explosion in a transformer vault that also knocked out telephone operator service to parts of three states. Three telephone workers who were replacing a switching unit were critically burned. About 13,000 volts of electricity were running through the underground equipment when a flash fire sparked the explosion, forcing the evacuation of neighboring US West Communications and AT&T buildings, officials said.