ZANESVILLE, Ohio -- Authorities say 300,000 tons of molten glass spilled from a ruptured tank at a central Ohio plant, oozing like lava from a small hole that quickly grew several feet wide.
It wrapped around structural beams at the Owens-Illinois glass plant in Zanesville on Monday. Firefighters worked for hours to cool the glass so it wouldn’t destroy beams and collapse the building.
No injuries were reported.
Owens-Illinois told the Zanesville Times Recorder that employees followed safety protocols. The damage is being assessed.
South Zanesville Fire Chief Russell Taylor said the rupture started with a hole that quickly grew.
He said firefighters were prepared because he and other area fire officials had taken the precaution of talking with the plant in recent weeks about how to handle a potential rupture.
