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Body of missing worker located following ‘violent’ Newburyport factory explosion, officials say
The explosion caused major structural damage to the building, which hampered firefighters and technical rescue crews in their search for the fifth worker.
An early morning explosion at a Newburyport factory left one person dead and four others injured.
Officials confirmed Thursday evening that the body of a missing worker, later identified as Jack O’Keefe, 62, of Methuen, was located following the seven-alarm chemical explosion.
Emergency crews responded to the scene at 9 Opportunity Way around 12:45 a.m., according to a release from the Newburyport Fire Department.
Seqens, formerly known as PCI Synthesis, is a pharmaceutical manufacturing company.
When firefighters arrived, they could see heavy fire and smoke coming from the building. An industrial-sized vat from inside the factory had blown through the roof, and was sitting in an adjacent parking lot when firefighters arrived.
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Five people were working in the building at the time of the explosion, fire officials confirmed. Four of them were taken to a local hospital for treatment and have since been released. The body of the fifth worker was recovered at about 5:30 p.m., according to Newburyport’s Acting Fire Chief Stephen H. Bradbury III.
The explosion caused major structural damage to the building, which hampered firefighters and technical rescue crews in their search for the fifth worker, officials said.
A hazardous materials team and other mutual aid partners are on the scene. A Coast Guard helicopter also conducted an aerial search, which Bradbury said was so that the full perimeter could be searched.
“It was a violent explosion, so we wanted to cover all angles and take a look at the perimeter of the building,” the chief said.
The exact cause of the explosion remains under investigation, Bradbury confirmed.
There is no danger to residents in the area, according to authorities, but Newburyport police asked workers in the industrial park to avoid Opportunity Way while operations continue.
“The authorities arrived quickly on site and we are grateful for their support and quick work,” the company said in a statement Thursday morning.
This is not the first time emergency crews have responded to the Opportunity Way factory for a chemical emergency. There were chemical explosions in 2020 and a chemical fire in 2021, as reported by The Daily News of Newburyport. No one was hurt in either incident.
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In previous years, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has also fined the company for “serious” workplace violations and the Environmental Protection Agency has accused the facility of violating numerous federal and state hazardous waste laws, The Daily News reported.
OSHA also responded to the scene Thursday, as part of the investigation.
“There is clearly a documented history from OSHA of negligence committed by this nonunion company towards the safety of its workers,” said Al Vega, chief of strategy & engagement for the nonprofit Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health in a statement.
“We at MassCOSH are saddened to see that Seqens ignored these many warnings from OSHA, and that this continued negligence sent four workers to the hospital and led to one worker who is still yet to be found by a rescue team,” Vega continued. “We hope that an ensuing investigation from OSHA will hold this company accountable and deter other employers from failing to protect their workers against similar chemical incidents and hazards.”
See below for photos and video from the scene, as shared on Twitter:
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