Authorities in Canton, southwest of Peoria, Illinois say a gas explosion killed a utility worker on Wednesday night and damaged several downtown buildings. Eleven people were hospitalized. (Nov. 17)
Canton police and firefighters responded about 5:45 p.m. Wednesday November 16, 2016 to a large gas explosion that killed an Ameren Illinois utility worker and injured 11 other people.
A witness reported that a gas leak was being investigated earlier in the day after contractor hit an underground service line in downtown Canton.
A gas explosion rocked Canton, Illinois, on the evening of Wednesday, November 16, causing heavy damage in the downtown area near Fulton Square.
“A gas crew from Ameren Illinois responded to the scene of a gas leak caused by a third party contractor that had dug into an underground gas service line in downtown Canton, Illinois. The Ameren Illinois crew squeezed off the gas and was in the process of making repairs when an explosion occurred. One Ameren Illinois worker was fatally injured. Three others were treated at local hospitals.
We express our deep sadness and profound sympathies to the family of our fallen Ameren Illinois worker and ask everyone to please keep his family and the families of the injured in their thoughts and prayers.”
— Ameren Illinois
Canton gas explosion eyewitness report.
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