LOUISVILLE, Ky. — At least two people were killed in the massive explosion Tuesday at the Givaudan Sense Colour manufacturing plant in the Clifton neighborhood.
Givaudan initially told city leaders and emergency services that all employees were accounted for, but that wasn't the case.
One of the victims was found dead in the building under the rubble of the food additive plant hours after the blast.
"When the family started showing up, we started getting the calls back that said that, hey, there still may be someone else in the building," said Louisville EMS Executive Director Jody Meiman.
Family members notified emergency services. Meiman said once they heard there could be other victims in the building, rescue teams were organized and they started immediately searching.
"They found that person within an hour," Meiman said. "And then once they got other equipment, other resources on site, specialized rescue they assembled those rescue teams they had to do, they had to do a lot of shoring to get to the victim. They had to do a lot of debris removal, and then they were able to get them out in about two and a half three hours."
In a late night update Wednesday, a Givaudan spokesperson said that "Plant leaders used clock-in information immediately after the incident to establish site headcount."
"Due to the extent of the explosion, the typical evacuation site was unavailable and the team used two alternative locations," they said. "As a result, there was a miscommunication between the teams at the two locations when cross-referencing the staff list with those being transported to local hospitals. This initially led us to believe that all individuals were accounted for. When it became clear this was not the case, we immediately coordinated with EMS at the site who re-initiated search and rescue operations."
Louisville Fire Department Chief Brian O'Neill said at the Wednesday press conference, "there was a tremendous amount of trauma to this victim."
Meiman said the explosion could have ended in more tragedy.
"Some of those buildings, facilities like that, are made to blow out like that. So when they're made to blow out, it doesn't create pressure from an explosion inside," said Meiman. "Some of the construction potentially could have helped it from getting, from being actually worse."
As for the future of the company in Clifton? Metro councilperson Andrew Owen is answering clearly.
"The neighbors want the company gone," said Owen.
Out of respect for the victims' families, the names of the employees are not being released publicly at this time.
The Givaudan spokesperson said they are prioritizing the well-being of those impacted by the incident and their families, and that it's "too early to comment on anything further related to the facility."
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