The Nation : Three Die in Barge Blast

Three workers were killed and a fourth was missing in a petroleum barge explosion at Piney Point, Md., that was heard 17 miles away, authorities said. The four workers at the Steuart Petroleum Co. Bulk Storage Facility were cleaning out remnants of a load of aviation fuel, a spokesman for the state fire marshal’s office said. “That’s when it’s most dangerous because of the vapors,” he said. A fifth worker was in stable condition with injuries suffered when he was blown off the pier into the water. The barge was charred and a 20-foot section of the pier was blown away.