By Chelsey Pollock
The Union Leader
NASHUA, N.H. — Two people were seriously injured and had to be air-lifted to Boston hospitals after an industrial accident yesterday shortly after 9 a.m.
Workers at Worthen Industries, 3 East Spit Brook Road, were welding and making modifications to a processing tank when there was a small accidental explosion, said Nashua Deputy Fire Chief John Allison last night.
Nashua Fire Rescue, local police and Rockingham Ambulance responded to the scene.
Two workers suffered serious burns and lacerations, said Nashua Deputy Fire Chief Michael O’Brien, and were taken to St. Joseph Hospital and Southern New Hampshire Regional Medical Center, both in Nashua.
The two were later air-lifted to Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, O’Brien said.
O’Brien said the department does not yet know the condition of the injured workers, whose names are being withheld.
Two other workers suffered minor injuries in the incident, and were treated at local hospitals, he said.
Damage from the explosion was confined to one section of the building and because it is on a dead end road off Daniel Webster Highway, there were no traffic disruptions associated with the incident, Allison said.
According to the company’s Web site, Worthen Industries develops adhesives and coatings for various industrial markets, with manufacturing plants in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Virginia and Michigan.
The Nashua Fire Marshal’s Office and police are still investigating the cause of the incident.
O’Brien said the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration may soon be involved in the investigation.
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