A lithium-ion battery recycling plant caught on fire and exploded in Fredericktown, Missouri, on Wednesday, and emergency crews rushed to the scene.
Critical Mineral Recovery owns the lithium-ion battery processing plant where the incident happened, ABC 7 reported Thursday, noting authorities did not report any casualties as a result.
Video footage of the incident shows people standing outside the plant that is on fire when the building suddenly explodes, sending debris and flames into the air.
ABC 7 noted the facility is “reportedly one of the largest in the world that processes lithium-ion batteries.”
Officials with the Fredericktown Fire Department responded to the scene while the Bismarck Fire Protection District provided support as crews worked.
“The dense smoke billowing from the blaze prompted Madison County authorities to issue evacuation orders in one area of Fredericktown. Other local residents were advised to shelter indoors,” the ABC 7 article noted.
According to KSDK, 75 workers were inside the building when the fire broke out but all of them were able to escape safely.
Video shows firefighters at the scene where smoke filled the air. A reporter for KSDK said the cause of the blaze remained unclear, adding “the southeast corner of the building has collapsed in. There is definitely serious damage”:
Aerial video captured the extent of the damage the building suffered. There was a massive hole in its roof as smaller fires were seen inside:
In June, a major fire at a lithium battery plant in South Korea killed about 23 workers, Breitbart News reported.
“An official said the fire began when battery cells exploded inside the warehouse,” but the cause of the explosion was unknown at the time.
“The U.S. Coast Guard said an out-of-control lithium-ion battery fire aboard a cargo ship had been put out after it burned for days while the ship was off the coast of Alaska, Breitbart News reported in January,” the outlet said, noting such batteries have been the subject of controversy for quite some time with questions surrounding their safety.
