1 dead, 77 hurt in Louisiana chemical plant explosion

HOUSTON -- At least one person was killed and 77 injured Thursday in an explosion and fire at a petrochemical plant in the Louisiana town of Geismar, part of a heavily industrial region known as "Cancer Alley."

"This has been a tragic incident," Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal said during a briefing near the plant Thursday afternoon. "There will be further investigations afterward to determine what happened and to make sure this doesn't happen again."

He said officials had not released the name of the man who died.

As Jindal spoke in the televised briefing, a black plume could be seen flowing from a smokestack behind him at the Williams Olefins plant. The governor dismissed the smoke as nonhazardous -- just "emergency flaring, mainly a hydrocarbon, not an inhalation hazard."

Some environmental advocates said the explosion should draw attention to hazards in a region once known as "Bhopal on the bayou."

The explosion at 8:37 a.m. prompted the evacuation of about 300 workers, Jindal said. The state Department of Health and Hospitals reported 77 people were taken to hospitals -- many with burns -- and 51 were discharged. Three patients remained in intensive care.

-- McClatchy News Service