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• Preliminary investigation results due today in West, TX explosion

  May 16, 2013 3:29 AM

  We expect to learn more about the fertilizer plant explosion in West, Texas last month. Preliminary results of the investigation will be announced by state fire marshals and the ATF later today. The explosion killed 15 people and injured dozens. Investigators have already ruled out a natural cause,... more »

• Willie Nelson helps the victims of the West, Texas explosion

  April 29, 2013 3:39 AM

  Help is on the way to victims in the town of West, Texas from country music icon Willie Nelson. Hundreds of fans lined up for Nelson's 80th birthday concert at the "Backyard" in Austin. The sold out show took on extra special meaning: all proceeds are going to the... more »

• Crater being examined in West, Texas explosion

  April 25, 2013 4:23 AM

  A crowd packed a church in the town of West, Texas to remember a fire captain killed in the fertilizer plant explosion. They honored the life of Dallas firefighter, Captain Kenny Harris, Junior. Harris was off duty last Wednesday night, but offered his assistance as a volunteer firefighter. The 52... more »

• Fire Captain killed in Texas blast will be laid to rest

  April 24, 2013 4:02 AM

  A funeral will be held for the fire captain killed in the West, Texas fertilizer plant explosion. Captain Kenneth Harris, Junior, 52, will be the first person laid to rest following the explosion that leveled a large portion of West last week. Harris was a veteran of the Dallas Fire... more »

• Number of deaths unknown in fertilizer plant explosion

  April 18, 2013 5:01 AM

  WEST, Texas (AP) - Officials say it'll be some time before they know how many people have been killed in a fertilizer plant explosion in the town of West, Texas. Firefighters were already at the plant battling a fire when the explosion happened Wednesday night. It was so strong it... more »

• Explosions in Syria's Aleppo kill at least 12

  February 22, 2013 1:00 PM

  BEIRUT (AP) - Syrian activists say at least 12 people, including children, have been killed in three explosions in the northern city of Aleppo. The director of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Rami Abdul-Rahman, says the blasts appeared to have been caused by missiles. He says they hit... more »

• Investigators search for cause of school explosion

  August 3, 2012 8:52 AM

  ERIE, Colo. (AP) - Federal investigators are trying to determine the cause of an explosion at Erie Middle School that injured three workers. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is looking into reports the explosion happened when a plumbing contractor was lighting a hot water heater. According to the Boulder... more »

• Freight train derails, causes huge blast

  July 11, 2012 7:16 AM

  COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - A freight train derailment and explosion in Columbus, Ohio, has authorities evacuating a mile-wide area of the city as they try to contain the blaze and determine what's burning. Norfolk Southern says it appears about 11 cars of a southbound train derailed around 2 a.m. Wednesday... more »

• Miller moths blamed for car wreck Play Video

  May 2, 2012 9:42 PM

  An 18-year-old girl is uninjured after her car crashed into a tree off Lexington Drive, ruptured a gas line, and burst into flames. She told officials a miller moth trapped in her car was the distraction that caused the crash. Witnesses pulled the teen's body from her SUV just moments... more »

• Shocking phone call: "Your house is on fire" Play Video

  March 23, 2012 8:35 PM

  Vicki and John Bonato had taken the day off from work to relax and get a massage when they received the phone call saying their home was engulfed in flames. "It feels surreal, it hasn't hit me yet. I'm sure it will hit me, I'm sure our lives are going... more »

• Police investigate explosive device

  December 2, 2011 5:00 PM

  Colorado Springs Police are on the scene of a reported explosive device. A patrol officer was contacted at 1:37 p.m. in the area of Wooten road and Geiger blvd, on the city's East side. A 2" X 4" piece of steel shrapnel was recovered in the middle of the street.... more »

• Fire officials: 3 hurt in Chicago house explosion

  November 13, 2011 1:05 PM

  CHICAGO (AP) - An explosion has flattened one home in Chicago, burned others and sent two people to the hospital with serious burns. Chicago police and fire officials say a woman in her 50s and a man in his 40s were seriously burned in the blast shortly before 7... more »

• Workers still missing after Kan. grain accident

  October 30, 2011 11:53 AM

  ATCHISON, Kan. (AP) - Three people remain unaccounted for and two others are hospitalized in critical condition following an explosion at a grain elevator in northeast Kansas that killed three workers. Atchison City Manager Trey Cocking says officials are weighing whether it's safe to send fire teams into the facility,... more »

• 3 die in grain elevator explosion

  October 30, 2011 9:12 AM

  ATCHISON, Kan. (AP) - An official has confirmed that three Kansas grain elevator workers died in an explosion. City Manager Trey Cocking says three other people remain missing after the explosion in the northeast Kansas town of Atchison. He says authorities plan to bring in equipment to dig through... more »

• A quiet Sunday morning explodes into mayhem

  September 4, 2011 3:35 PM

  Suzanne Clark Foster was enjoying her peace and quite Sunday morning when she heard what she first thought was the back fire of a passing car outside her window. Being as curious as anyone else she looked out and was trying to see where the noise came from and a... more »

• Grenade explosion sends 20 people to hospital in Kentucky

  August 2, 2011 1:33 PM

  LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - Authorities in southeastern Kentucky say 20 people have been sent to hospitals for treatment after a tear gas grenade exploded in a boy's hand while three children played with it in a home. The grenade created a powdery cloud, and caused injuries including burning eyes,... more »

• Lake Avenue closed after gas line leak and fire

  June 13, 2011 3:40 PM

  Lake Avenue in Pueblo is closed at Highland after a natural gas leak and fire at a storage business. The leak was caused by a backhoe doing construction work. The fire sparked in a nearby building a few minutes later. One man inside the building suffered serious injuries. more »

• OSHA investigates worker death in Pueblo

  April 21, 2011 5:41 PM

  The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating an industrial explosion in Pueblo that killed a man. The incident happened Wednesday afternoon at Western Metals Recycling, which leases land at the steel mill. Ignacio Rendon-Cornelio, 30, was killed. The Pueblo County Sheriff's Office says it appears he was cutting... more »

• 2 dead, 2 missing at Hawaii fireworks bunker blast

  April 9, 2011 11:41 AM

  WAIPAHU, Hawaii (AP) - Rescuers are waiting for a charred fireworks storage bunker to cool down today before they search for two men missing and presumed dead. The explosion killed two workers and two other workers were injured in a Honolulu suburb. The blast yesterday scorched trees and... more »

• Japanese authorities working to avert another reactor explosion

  March 13, 2011 12:13 PM

  KORIYAMA, Japan (AP) - Japanese authorities are working to keep temperatures down in a series of nuclear reactors today, including one where officials fear a partial meltdown could be taking place. More than 170,000 people have been evacuated as a precaution from the northeast coastal region devasted by Friday's... more »

• Three from quake-damaged Japanese nuclear plant exposed to radiation.

  March 12, 2011 1:26 PM

  IWAKI, Japan (AP) - Officials are trying to ease fears about radiation leakage and a potential meltdown after an explosion today at a nuclear plant in northeastern Japan. They say the reactor's metal housing remains intact and radiation levels have fallen. But authorities have evacuated a 12-mile radius around the... more »

• Investigators find dog in wreckage of home

  March 9, 2011 6:22 PM

  Investigators looking for answers in the overnight explosion of a home in Colorado Springs have found a dead dog in the rubble. So far the two occupants of the home are missing. The search continues. more »

• President Obama comdemns apparent terror attack in Moscow

  January 24, 2011 1:08 PM

  WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama is condemning an explosion that killed at least 35 people at Moscow's busiest airport, calling it "an outrageous act of terrorism against the Russian people." Russia's president, Dmitry Medvedev, said it looked like a terror attack. A state news agency says the blast... more »

• Another package explosion

  January 7, 2011 3:57 PM

  WASHINGTON (AP) - Police say a package has ignited at a Washington, D.C. postal facility. Just yesterday two fiery packages ignited in Maryland, injuring two workers. more »

• Bombing injures 6 in Afghanistan

  December 11, 2010 11:44 AM

  Six people were injured Saturday during a powerful explosion outside police headquarters in Kandahar City, Afghanistan. Officials said a bomb went off inside a vehicle in a deserted area that had been turned into a parking lot for police vehicles. It was not immediately clear whether the bomb was... more »

• CU student slightly injured in lab explosion

  November 30, 2010 6:01 PM

  BOULDER, Colo. (AP) - A student at the University of Colorado in Boulder has a minor injury after chemicals he was using in a lab exploded. CU-Boulder spokesman Bronson Hilliard said the explosion at about 2:45 p.m. Tuesday left the post-doctoral student with a cut on his forehead. At... more »

• Jet drama: loud bang, falling debris

  November 4, 2010 8:43 AM

  SYDNEY (AP) - The CEO of Qantas says the safety of its superjumbo jet is the main focus and those planes are grounded until that's assured. CEO Alan Joyce says the airline is suspending all flights of its six Airbus A380 jetliners after a mid-air engine problem on a... more »

• Experts say aging pipelines are in place below populated areas

  September 14, 2010 8:52 AM

  Last week's explosion of a gas pipeline in San Bruno, California has shed light on a situation that experts say exists in many communities across the country. The section of pipeline that ruptured was built in 1956 -- when the neighborhood contained just a handful of homes. Since then,... more »

• Heat keeping crews from California homes

  September 10, 2010 3:51 PM

  A California fire official says a quarter of the homes burned an enormous blaze sparked after a gas line ruptured are still too hot to search. San Bruno Fire Chief Dennis Haag said crews are going door to door in the neighborhood near San Francisco. At least four... more »

• Death toll fluctuates in California blast

  September 10, 2010 12:50 PM

  Fire crews flooded the ruins of burning homes with water early Friday after a massive explosion sent flames roaring through a neighborhood near San Francisco, killing at least four people and destroying more than 50 houses. The death toll fluctuated as authorities began assessing the damage early Friday. ... more »

• Death toll climbs to 6 in California blast, fire

  September 10, 2010 12:57 AM

  A massive explosion sent flames roaring through a neighborhood in the hills south of San Francisco on Thursday night, destroying more than 50 homes, leaving six dead and injuring dozens. The explosion shot a fireball more than 1,000 feet in the air and sent frightened residents fleeing for safety... more »

• Oil sheen spreading from Gulf platform explosion

  September 2, 2010 2:12 PM

  The Coast Guard is saying that a mile-long oil sheen is spreading from the site off an offshore petroleum platform that exploded in the Gulf of Mexico off Louisiana. The site of the explosion is west of where BP's massive spill occurred. The Coast Guard said no one... more »

• Gulf oil rig explodes off Louisiana coast

  September 2, 2010 11:45 AM

  An offshore oil rig has exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, west of the site of the April blast that caused the massive oil spill. Coast Guard Petty Officer Casey Ranel says the blast was reported by a commercial helicopter company about 9:30 a.m. CDT Thursday. Seven helicopters, two... more »

• At least one killed in L.A. building explosion

  July 30, 2010 12:15 PM

  Fire officials say at least one person has died in an explosion that rocked a large South Los Angeles commercial building and hurled people into the street. Fire Capt. Steve Ruda says the suspected natural gas explosion shook the two-story building housing a welding operation at 6:15 a.m. PT... more »

• College lab explosion injures four

  June 28, 2010 7:12 PM

  COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) - A hydrogen gas explosion inside a University of Missouri biochemistry lab has injured four people. Authorities say one victim has life-threatening injuries. The blast happened after 2 p.m. Monday on the third floor of Schweitzer Hall on the Columbia campus. The university said in a... more »

• 'Drilling moratorium causes economic harm'

  June 10, 2010 10:56 AM

  Despite the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu is reiterating her call to end the Obama administration's moratorium on deepwater drilling, saying it will cause economic hardship in the region. Speaking Thursday on ABC's "Good Morning America," Landrieu said the moratorium was issued... more »

• Xcel installing temporary Denver substation

  June 10, 2010 8:16 AM

  Xcel Energy is still asking customers in east Denver to reduce electricity use as it installs a temporary substation to replace one that blew up. Company spokesman Mark Stutz says customers have been conserving energy, avoiding the need for controlled outages. But he says Thursday could be rough because... more »

• Xcel urges conservation following substation fire

  June 8, 2010 3:58 PM

  Power has been restored to Denver residents following a transformer fire, but customers are being urged to conserve electricity over the coming days. Nearly 31,000 customers lost power Monday evening after a substation caught fire. Xcel Energy says power may have to be shut off to some customers... more »

• One dead in Texas natural gas explosion

  June 8, 2010 2:53 PM

  The company that was digging at the site in Texas where a natural gas line ruptured yesterday says its crew had followed the proper procedures in locating that line first. The rupture set off a massive explosion that killed one worker. The head of C&H Power Line Construction Services... more »

• Natural gas line blast in Texas investigated

  June 8, 2010 8:16 AM

  Authorities are investigating a natural gas explosion in rural north Texas that killed one utility worker. Officials are trying to find out how a utility crew hit a large natural gas line Monday afternoon, sending a massive fireball into he area. Johnson County's emergency management coordinator, Jack Snow,... more »

• Xcel Energy working to restore power in Denver

  June 8, 2010 8:05 AM

  Xcel Energy is trying to find the cause an explosion at a power substation in east Denver that left about 31,000 customers without electricity. At least one explosion rocked the substation at about 6:30 p.m. Monday. A fire that sent a black plume of smoke about 60 feet into the... more »

• Natural gas line shoots towering flames in Texas

  June 7, 2010 7:15 PM

  Officials now say they don't know if anyone was killed when a natural gas line exploded in a rural area south of Dallas. Cleburne City Manager Chester Nolen initially told The Associated Press that at least three people were dead. But after fire officials and the gas line operator... more »

• Investigators to make first visit to West Virginia mine

  June 2, 2010 8:30 AM

  Investigators are preparing for their first visit into the West Virginia coal mine where 29 men died in a massive explosion in April. The blast was the nation's deadliest coal mining disaster in 40 years. Toxic and explosive gases have kept federal and state investigators out Massey Energy's Upper... more »

• BP tries risky 'cut and cap' move

  June 2, 2010 8:24 AM

  Submersible robots are making another risky attempt to control the Gulf oil gusher, while the crude on the surface is spreading. BP's latest effort involves a set of tools akin to an oversized deli slicer and garden shears to break away the broken riser pipe. Engineers will then try... more »

• Injured oil rig workers testify before Congress

  May 27, 2010 5:46 PM

  Two workers injured when an oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico told Congress that the companies in charge of the doomed drilling operation cut corners and neglected maintenance in a race toward higher profits. Laborer Stephen Stone told the House Judiciary Committee Thursday that the companies gambled... more »

• BP refineries account for most violations

  May 17, 2010 11:26 AM

  A Washington-based research group says two BP refineries in the U.S. account for 97 percent of "egregious willful" violations given by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The study by the Center for Public Integrity says the violations were found in the last three years in BP's Texas City... more »

• Justice Dept. confirms criminal probe of mine explosion

  May 14, 2010 5:21 PM

  The Justice Department is investigating whether there was "willful criminal activity" by the company that operates the West Virginia mine where 29 workers died in an accident last month. The U.S. attorney's office for the Southern District of West Virginia says in a letter that investigators are looking into the... more »

• BP hopes tube will siphon oil to tanker

  May 14, 2010 9:32 AM

  BP's latest plan to stanch the gushing oil pipe in the Gulf of Mexico includes robots, a small tube and a stopper. If all goes well, a stopper will be put in place today to fill the gap between a six-inch tube and the jagged, 21-inch pipe to keep... more »

• Icy crystals foil attempt to cap oil leak

  May 9, 2010 10:13 AM

  A novel but risky attempt to use a 100-ton steel-and-concrete box to cover a deepwater oil well gushing toxic crude into the Gulf of Mexico was aborted Saturday after ice crystals encased it, an ominous development as thick blobs of tar began washing up on Alabama's white sand beaches. ... more »

• BP CEO: chemicals help cut oil flow to surface

  May 3, 2010 9:35 AM

  The chief executive of BP says crews have been able to reduce the amount of oil reaching the surface from a massive underwater gusher with a new approach of using chemicals at the gusher. CEO Tony Hayward also said BP is not responsible for the Gulf of Mexico drill rig... more »

• Oil spill reaches Louisiana coast

  April 30, 2010 8:15 AM

  Fishermen rushed to scoop up shrimp and crews spread floating barriers around marshes as a faint glaze of oil started to wash ashore along the Gulf Coast from a sunken rig. The oil slick could become the nation's worst environmental disaster in decades, threatening hundreds of species of fish,... more »

• Massey: No high level of volatile gas before blast

  April 26, 2010 12:57 PM

  Massey Energy says air samples did not show high levels of explosive gases just before an explosion in a West Virginia coal mine that killed 29 workers. Massey board director Stanley Suboleski said Monday the samples were taken by a foreman as part of a shift change exam of the... more »

• Suit filed over Branch Inn explosion

  April 21, 2010 6:23 PM

  The insurance company responsible for the Branch Inn is suing Xcel Energy and the City of Pueblo over the explosion that leveled the building in the Union Avenue Historic District. It happened the afternoon of November 13, 2008. Natural gas built up in the basement of the Branch Inn... more »

• At least seven hurt in oil rig blast, up to 15 missing

  April 21, 2010 9:42 AM

  At least seven people were injured and up to 15 feared missing after an explosion at an oil drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico off Louisiana's coast, the U.S. Coast Guard said. The explosion was reported on the rig, which is 52 miles southeast of Venice, Louisiana, at... more »

• Family's dishwasher goes kaboom!

  April 19, 2010 12:30 PM

  A Pennsylvania man believes dishwashing detergent is to blame for the explosion that destroyed his dishwasher. Terry Best started his dishwasher Monday night and went to bed. A few minutes later he heard an explosion. When the family rushed to the kitchen they found white powder on the... more »

• 4 missing miners dead; final toll at 29

  April 10, 2010 9:07 AM

  Authorities say crews have found the bodies of four miners missing nearly a week since an explosion at a West Virginia coal mine, bringing the death toll to 29. Officials say the mission now is to recover all 22 bodies still inside the Upper Big Branch mine 30 miles of... more »

• Rescue crews back in mine to look for survivors

  April 9, 2010 8:18 AM

  Searchers desperately hoping to find up to four survivors of a mine blast that killed 25 went back underground early today, while workers above pumped nitrogen into the earth to flush out dangerous gases that have kept rescuers at bay. The search teams were wearing oxygen masks and carrying... more »