西弗吉尼亚州查尔斯顿——西弗吉尼亚州一家化工厂发生爆炸和火灾，震动了周围的房屋，造成一名工厂工人死亡，另外三人受伤。
奇穆尔在一份声明中说，这件事发生在周二晚上10点以后，地点是位于Kanawha县Belle社区的奇穆尔房产的租户Optima Chemicals Co .
卡纳华县专员肯特·卡珀说，周三有一人死亡。在一份声明中，受害者的家人确认他是飓风的工厂工人约翰·吉伦沃特。
声明称:“失去丈夫、父亲和朋友约翰·吉伦沃特，家人悲痛欲绝。”。“约翰在他的社区和教会中受到许多人的爱戴。
“此时此刻，家人正在应对这场悲剧的冲击，我们要求你尊重他们的隐私。”
伤者中，另一名工厂工人受伤，一人被碎片击中。卡珀说，官员们认为爆炸涉及氯化干漂白剂和甲醇。
住在这个地区的人报告说他们的房子在摇晃。应急官员宣布在工厂周围2英里(3公里)的地方建立避难所，在消防员扑灭火焰并允许人们四处移动之前，附近的一条道路已经关闭。周三早些时候，订单被取消。
贝勒市长大卫·弗莱彻也是一名志愿消防员，他说大火在午夜前被扑灭。“现在我们觉得一切都很好，”他告诉WCHS电视台。
然而，这是非常艰难的一天，卡纳华县经理詹妮弗·赫勒德告诉美联社。
“我们失去了一名执法人员，他们让她安息了，我们的社区已经因为那次事件受到了伤害，然后以一家化工厂的爆炸结束了一天，当时我们的第一反应人员已经因为处理葬礼而悲伤和疲惫——这是一个今晚很难经历的情况，”她说。
Chemours是2015年从杜邦公司剥离出来的。Optima Chemical成立于1991年，隶属于AFF化学部。留在佐治亚州道格拉斯的一条电话留言没有立即回复。
这个占地723英亩(293公顷)的场地位于查尔斯顿东南约10英里(16公里)的卡纳华河边。贝尔镇大约有1100名居民。
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West Virginia chemical plant blast kills 1, injures 3
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- An explosion and fire at a West Virginia chemical plant that shook surrounding homes killed a plant worker and injured three other people.
It happened after 10 p.m. Tuesday at Optima Chemicals Co., a tenant on the Chemours property site in the Kanawha County community of Belle, Chemours said in a statement.
Kanawha County Commissioner Kent Carper said one person died Wednesday. In a statement, the victim's family identified him as plant worker John Gillenwater of Hurricane.
“The family is devastated over the loss of their husband, father and friend John Gillenwater,” the statement said. "John was beloved by many in his community and his church.
“At this time, the family is dealing with the shock of this tragedy and we ask that you respect their privacy.”
Among the injured, another plant worker was hurt and one person was hit by debris. Officials believe the explosion involved chlorinated dry bleach and methanol, Carper said.
People who lived in the area reported their houses shook. Emergency officials announced a shelter-in-place order for 2 miles (3 kilometers) around the plant and a nearby road was closed before firefighters were able to extinguish the flames and allow people to move around. The order was lifted early Wednesday.
Belle Mayor David Fletcher, who also is a volunteer firefighter, said the blaze was extinguished before midnight. “Right now we feel like everything is in pretty good shape,” he told WCHS-TV.
Still, it was a very hard day, Kanawha County Manager Jennifer Herrald told The Associated Press.
“We lost a law enforcement officer and they laid her to rest, our community was already hurting over that event, and then to end the day with an explosion at a chemical plant when our first responders were already grieving and exhausted from dealing with a funeral — it was a hard situation to go through this evening,” she said.
Chemours formed as a spinoff from DuPont in 2015. Optima Chemical was established in 1991 from the chemical division of AFF. A telephone message left with Douglas, Georgia-based Optima was not immediately returned.
The 723-acre (293-hectare) site is located along the Kanawha River about 10 miles (16 kilometers) southeast of Charleston. The town of Belle has about 1,100 residents.
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This story has been corrected to show the explosion hit Tuesday, not Wednesday.
