GREENVILLE, Pa. — A worker at a local industrial park was killed when a tank filled with diesel fuel burst into flames.
Officials said the explosion happened around 5:30 p.m. Monday at Brownies Oil Company in the Reynolds Industrial Park in Mercer County.
A woman who lives nearby said the force from the explosion was so strong the 10,000 gallon tank went airborne and landed in her yard -- just feet away from her home.
“I called 911 and went flying out of my door to see what was going on when I saw the tank sitting there… that’s like 30 feet from my kitchen,” said neighbor Mary Kress.
Investigators said the tank contained off-road diesel fuel.
Mary Kress said just minutes before the tank landed in her yard, she was outside.
“I had just come inside to eat and I hear the explosion and then I looked outside and called 911 because everything was in flames over there,” Kress said.
Officials are working to determine what sparked the blast, but said a welder working about 100 yards away from the tank may have sparked the explosion.
The medical examiner has not released the victim’s name.