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Blast(Continued from Pace i)Baptist Medical Center in Little Rock A hospital spokesman said one was in critical condition, one in serious condition and another in fair conditionThe names of the injured were not being releasedThe evacuation area had been expanded from a two^mile radius to a five-mile radius Be sides nearby Damascus, residents from the rural communities of Bee Branch and Gravesville had been evacuated.The evacuees were being tak en to the National Guard Armory in Conway and to the Clinton High School auditorium Conway is about 20 miles south east of the site Clinton is about15 miles to the north of the siteState police said U.S. High way 65 between Conway and Harrison in northern Arkansas was closed to traffic.“There was a big flash of flight, then it was followed by a shock wave a few seconds later,” said Tom Scott, a reporter for the Conway Log Cabin Democrat. He said there was an acrid smell in the air after the explosion.Scott, who was standing across the road from the en trance to the site, said a “large, billowing cloud of reddish orange smoke and flame that lasted about 10 seconds' followed the accident.Nearby Air Force personnel began to cry out in alarm “My God. I hope they are alive, one individual saidThe maintenance crew had suited up to enter the silo only about 30 minutes before the accident occurredTom Graham of the Office of Emergency Services said the area *Tlit up like daylight.” The explosion was seen by officers atConway.Scott said state police immediately cleared the area An order carried over a loud speakerfrom inside the compound to “clear the area.”Light debris, described as being like pea gravel, fell over the area Scott said he ducked behind his pickup truck as the debris fell When he looked up, an Air Force Captain was staring down at him and told him the silo had exploded“We got the hell out of there,” Scott sa id.State police stopped at houses along the way to make sure that people had been evacuated In Damascus, people were told to head south to Conway.A four member silo crew had been evacuated by helicopter Thursday night when the Irak was discovered. The men weretaken to Little Rock Air Force Base, but were not injured, said Air Force Capt Tom Mahr Initially, there were reports of a fire in the silo in connection with the leak But Kline later said a disaster response team reported preliminary indications are that there was nofire.”The silo is in a sparsely popu lated area between the towns of Damascus and Bee Branch Four Air Force vehicles, escorted by Conway police, were en route to Damascus about 3 a m. CDT The vehicles included a disaster control unit, a rescue truck, a pumper and a van carrying protective breathing apparatus.In 1978, several people were hospitalized when a leak developed at the silo. In that incident, a dark red cloud of a toxic gascalled nitrogen textroxide escaped from the silo and was carried by the wind At least six people, including two farmers who lived nearby, were exposed to the fumes and became ill Nitrogen textroxide is a component of the fuel for the huge Titan II missile that is housed in the silo
Newspaper Details
Fayetteville Northwest Arkansas Times
Fayetteville, Arkansas, US
Fri, Sep 19, 1980
Page 2
Full Page
Clipped by
Arkansas S.
AR, USA 14 Feb 2020
Other Publications Near Fayetteville, Arkansas
Fayetteville Democrat
Fayetteville Daily
Fayetteville Northwest Arkansas Times
Northwest Arkansas Times
Fayetteville Daily Democrat
