Explosion Damages Nebraska Grain Elevator

An explosion damaged a grain elevator in the central Nebraska town of Gothenburg on December 29, scattering debris onto nearby railroad tracks and a highway.

The explosion happened just after 11:30 a.m. at the All Points Cooperative as trucks and rail cars were being loaded and unloaded, said Dawson County Emergency Management Director Brian Woldt.

Woldt said everyone at the elevator was accounted for and no one was hurt.

“Everything has been basically shut down,” he said.

Crews were waiting for equipment to arrive to lift them up to the silos to begin inspecting the damage. Aerial inspections also were planned, Woldt said.

“From the location where I’ve been, there appears to be some damage on the south side of the elevator and it blew tops of two silos,” he said. “There are no apparent cracks in the silos that we know of.”

He said the silos contained primarily corn but that wheat and soybeans also may have been stored there.

A woman answering the telephone at the cooperative referred questions to Ed Foster, the business’ manager, but then said he was not available for comment.

Woldt said no homes in the town of 4,000 people were evacuated, but a nearby gas station was closed.

Debris was found on Union Pacific railroad tracks near the elevator and on U.S. Highway 30 in front of the cooperative. The highway remained closed midafternoon on Dec. 29 as a safety precaution.

Woldt said it did not appear that a fire was involved in the explosion. The cause of the blast is under investigation.