Worker dead after explosion at North Carolina plant

WADESBORO, N.C. (AP) — Officials say a worker is dead after an explosion at a North Carolina plant. Anson County Emergency Services Chief Rodney Diggs says firefighters were called to the Darling Ingredients rendering plant in the Wadesboro area around 9 p.m. Thursday and found a plume of smoke coming from the building. After air monitoring determined that there wasn’t a threat, Diggs says one employee was found dead. He says the explosion involved aluminum chloride and an investigation into the blast is ongoing. Darling Ingredients spokesperson Suann Guthrie says the plant has been shut down and an investigation is underway. She says the company is “deeply saddened by the loss” of the employee.