An explosion at U.S. Steel’s Clairton Coke Works plant in Clairton, Pennsylvania killed two and left several others inured, officials said.
Allegheny County Emergency Services and Police confirmed the fatality and said multiple people were treated for injuries.
First responders were working to free those trapped in rubble. Video from the BreatheProject, a Pittsburgh-based air quality nonprofit, showed massive plumes of smoke rising from the plant moments after the blast.
Drone footage from local news outlet WTAE shows the aftermath of the explosion.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said on social media that “multiple explosions” occurred at the facility, located about 20 miles south of Pittsburgh, and that his administration is providing resources for the ongoing rescue operation.
Injured employees have been taken to local hospitals. U.S. Sen. John Fetterman visited the scene, noting the “active search and rescue” and that at least one person remained unaccounted for.
The Allegheny County Health Department urged nearby residents to stay indoors while monitoring the incident with emergency crews.
The Clairton facility, the largest coke manufacturing plant in the U.S., produces over 4 million tons of coke annually for the steelmaking process.
Coking plants heat coal to extreme temperatures without oxygen, creating the carbon-rich fuel essential for blast furnaces.
In recent years, the Clairton plant has faced mounting criticism from environmental groups and local residents over pollution and what they describe as inadequate maintenance.
A sprinkler pipe failure in 2018 sparked a Christmas Eve fire, while power outages disrupted operations in 2019 and 2022. In 2024, U.S. Steel reached a settlement with Allegheny County and two environmental organizations, agreeing to contribute $4.5 million toward environmental projects and invest approximately $19.5 million in upgrades to its coke oven gas cleaning systems.
“The work we do is important and often challenging,” said U.S. Steel CEO David B. Burritt. “But it should never, under any circumstances, come at the expense of safety.”
Clairton Mayor Richard Lattanzi, who spent three decades at U.S. Steel — including eight years as a safety inspector — acknowledged the inherent dangers of the job, The New York Times reports.
Still, he stressed, “Nobody should die at work.”
Lattanzi said he recently met with plant employees in the wake of the tragedy. “I shook all their hands,” he said. “They’re going to take it home with them.”
