Acid kills worker, injures investigator

MUNCIE, Ind., July 19 (UPI) -- A Mid-Plating company worker died in a vat of sodium cyanide and a deputy coroner investigating the accident was splashed with the caustic chemical.

Joseph Gray died Friday afternoon when he fell into the vat, the Muncie Star Press reported.

Deputy Coroner Scott Hahn was standing on a catwalk next to the vat taking pictures, when a series of explosions in the vat splashed him with the cyanide.

Hahn was taken to an emergency shower in the plant, then rushed to an area hospital, officials said. Hahn could suffer some hearing loss, but escaped any major injuries.

Delaware County Deputy Emergency Director David Le Poris told the paper he was standing about 6 feet away from Hahn when the explosion occurred. The force of the blast knocked his glasses off, LePoris said.

Officials were trying to determine what caused the fumes that set off the explosions, the newspaper said.