An explosion at a Loveland Products plant in Greenville, Mississippi, led officials to urge residents to avoid the immediate area Wednesday as emergency crews responded and authorities assessed whether further precautions were needed.
City officials said plant management’s preliminary account linked the blast to a fire involving a herbicide chemical. Crews were notified just after 8 a.m. ET (13:00 UTC), or shortly after 7 a.m. Central time, officials said.
With about 26,000 residents, Greenville sits in the Mississippi Delta around 120 miles northwest of Jackson. Sara Moreland Hester, who serves as a deputy director of emergency management in Washington County and works as a local firefighter, said there were no immediate reports of injuries. Hester said the fire was under control by midmorning but had not been fully extinguished.
Nutrien, Loveland’s parent company, said the fire was “being managed” and plant leaders were working with first responders. Mayor Errick D. Simmons said emergency agencies were assessing conditions and whether additional protective measures were needed. The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality dispatched personnel to the area, city officials said.
