Grain Elevator Explosion Kills 2 Men, Traps 4

HAYSVILLE, Kan. —  An explosion ripped through a grain elevator Monday, killing two men and trapping four people in the wreckage.

Six men were hospitalized; three were in critical condition, one in serious and two in fair condition.

The blast at the DeBruce Grain Elevator was believed to have been caused by a spark. Grain dust is extremely explosive.

Helicopters and a 300-foot crane had to be used to rescue six men from the top of the elevator. Four other persons were rescued from inside.

Rescue teams were making their way through a section of one of the four 1,200-foot tunnels underneath the complex, trying to find four people who had been working there, said Ken Cox, division chief of the Sedgwick County Fire Department.

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Two people were killed, said Fred Irvin, spokesman for the Sedgwick County Emergency Management Office.

One of the men rescued from the top of the elevator, Scott Mosteller, had a cellular phone and called 911 to report the explosion, said his father, Tom Mosteller.

The younger Mosteller, who has worked at the elevator for 14 years, had burns over 30% of his body, including his face, his father said.

The search was hampered Monday afternoon by high winds and rain. The area was under a tornado warning, but Cox said rescuers would work around the clock unless the weather worsened.

Asked about the chances of survival for the missing men, Cox said: “We are always optimistic. I would never count them out.”

Rescue teams that worked on the Oklahoma City bombing were on hand, and Federal Emergency Management Agency workers from Nebraska were coming to assist.

Haysville is about five miles south of Wichita.