A round of showers and thunderstorms that moved across the southwest corner of Louisiana brought a lot more than just rainfall to the area. Officials with Indorama say a lightning strike from one of those storms early Saturday morning shut down operations at the plant and sent two associates to a Lake Area hospital for treatment.

The strike which happened about 8:30 on Saturday morning resulted in a plant trip. This led to subsequent flaring. Some witnesses said smoke from the flaring was till visible well into Saturday afternoon.

The two associates were taken to an area hospital where their condition was evaluated. They were both released from the hospital later the same day.

The company issued a statement about the incident. Here is a portion of that statement:

At approximately 8:30 a.m., lightning struck our ethylene cracker resulting in a plant trip and subsequent flaring. Two associates reported minor injuries. These associates were evaluated and released from the local hospital. The event is fully contained, but the plant is currently offline. We are conducting an investigation and assessment of the damage to our operating facility.

Company officials promptly notified the Office of Emergency Preparedness, Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, and other local and state regulatory agencies regarding the incident.

Should you have questions or concerns about this incident you are encouraged to call the company's public hotline. That number is (337) 502-4754.

 

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