GURNEE, Ill. _ One body has been recovered from chemical plant that exploded Friday night in Waukegan, fire officials said Saturday morning.
Four employees of a Waukegan chemical plant were hospitalized and another three had been reported missing following the explosion late Friday at AB Specialty Silicones that caused more than $1 million in damage to both the plant and surrounding buildings, fire officials said.
"At this point, we were able to recover one of the three (employees) unaccounted for," Waukegan Fire Marshal Steven Lenzi told the Lake County News-Sun.
He explained that the body had been turned over to the Lake County coroner's office. No identification had been made as of late-morning Saturday.
Authorities indicated Saturday morning that the three people previously reported missing likely did not survive the explosion and fire.
Lenzi said crews suspended their search for the three employees due to concerns about the stability of the structure.
"The structure is no longer safe for us to operate in," he said of firefighters' efforts to recover the other two bodies authorities believe are still in what used to be the plant building.
The explosion at AB Specialty Silicones, at 3790 Sunset Ave. in Waukegan, was heard and felt across Lake County around 9:45 p.m. and was initially responded to by the Waukegan Fire Department.
The coroner was on scene Friday and crews early on classified the search as a recovery, Lenzi said.
"The conditions are really rough in there," Lenzi said in the hours after the explosion. "There's a lot of damage. There was a lot of fire throughout."
The fire marshal said Saturday morning that in order to recover the other bodies, fire crews would have to wait until the remaining structure is torn down.
Lenzi explained that demolition was expected within 24 to 48 hours.
Two firefighters sustained minor injuries, he said, and were "evaluated."
Lenzi reported that the first arriving crews "were quickly overwhelmed" by flames at the plant, which is on the city's far northwest side near its border with Gurnee.
"Crews were also met by and immediately began treating injured subjects from the building. Four subjects were treated and transported to area hospitals," Lenzi said in a statement, adding that two victims were taken to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville and two to Vista Medical Center East in Waukegan.
"Fire personnel were able to work with plant management to determine how many, if any victims were missing," Lenzi added. "It was determined that three employees were unaccounted for."
Late Friday, Mayor Sam Cunningham appeared near the scene at Green Bay Road and Sunset Avenue and said to reporters that he wanted to thank all the first responders working on "this unfortunate situation."
According to a statement issued at 4:45 a.m., fire personnel from Waukegan and Lake County agencies worked with hazardous materials crews and structural collapse technicians, including personnel from Cook County, in both fighting the fire and searching for the missing employees.
The statement added that "conditions worsened and other products from the plant caught on fire" during the effort. According to the company website, AB Specialty is a manufacturing and distribution company specializing in silicone products.
"I ask everyone out there to say prayers for the families of those that were hurt," he said.
About 15 minutes after the explosion, the Lake County Sheriff's Office issued an alert via social media stating that "we are aware of a very loud explosion sound and ground shaking in the Gurnee area. We are working to determine the cause."
About 20 minutes later, a follow-up post from the sheriff's office alerted the public to "stay out of the area of Sunset Avenue from Green Bay to Delany, Waukegan! Please allow first-responders to conduct operations!! Area first-responders are on the scene of an explosion/building fire."
Megan Hener, who lives six blocks from the scene, said she and her husband, Robert, drove down to the corner of Northwestern and Sunset avenues and posted a photo on social media that shows the building gone.
"It was leveled," she said.
Hener added that ambulances were "racing by" where she stood around 10:30 p.m. She estimated the explosion occurred around 9:45 p.m.
"We thought it was the propane place (in Gurnee)," she said. "It shook our house and shook my insides.
"It was massive," she added.
