No injuries after explosion at South Bend business

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Thousands of pieces of cement and metal cover the parking lot and grass next to a building at Abtrex industries. St. Joseph County dispatch says an explosion happened around 10:00 Thursday morning at the manufacturing company on South Bend’s south side. Luckily there were no injuries.

The company’s attorney tells us it was industrial equipment that failed inside the building, then shot through the north side part of the building’s cement wall. The blast pushed out debris into the dirt parking lot.

One of the first things you’ll notice pulling up to the scene is the hole in the building’s wall, but also a giant cap comparable in size to the size of a children’s pool. We learned that the cap is made of solid steel and weighs more than 10,000 pounds.

The company attorney also told ABC 57 News that the safety equipment successfully went off during this explosion. That’s why things aren’t any worse than this.

This comes exactly two weeks after the company posted on Facebook noting their pride in being one of Indiana’s manufacturing companies dedicated to safety and health.

This isn’t the first time Abtrex has seen destruction like this. Back in 2013, a fire destroyed a building there that has since been rebuilt.

Officials say there’s still potential for the building to partially collapse on the side where the cap went through, so people are being told to stay back.

Nipsco has checked the gas lines in the area to deem it safe and company officials have been meeting to talk about steps moving forward with that explosion.