VANCOUVER, British Columbia, April 24 (UPI) -- An explosion and fire at a central British Columbia sawmill killed one man and injured 27 others, emergency officials said Tuesday.
The blast happened in Prince George at the Lakeland Mills facility Monday night, starting a fire that was still burning Tuesday morning, the Vancouver Sun reported.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police Cpl. Craig Douglass told reporters there were 50 workers in the plant when the explosion happened.
The sawdust in mills is highly combustible and was hampering firefighters' efforts to extinguish the fire Tuesday, Prince George Fire Chief John Lane said in a release.
"At this stage, it is too early to determine a cause as the fire is expected to burn for at least 24 hours," Lane said. "We could be days away from being on the site."
Emergency officials said two workers were airlifted to Vancouver hospitals and were in intensive care with major burns. One worker was flown to the provincial capital Victoria and another was taken by helicopter to Edmonton, Alberta.
Company officials said 13 workers were treated and released.
