FIRE CHIEF SAYS 3 DEAD, 4 HURT WHEN BOILER EXPLODES IN ST. LOUIS

Kansas City, Mo. — An explosion launched a van-sized boiler through the roof a St. Louis box company and slammed much of it down onto a laundry business across the street on Monday, killing three people and injuring four others, authorities said. One person died in the blast about 8 a.m. at the Loy-Lange Box Co. and two others were killed when a large piece of the boiler crashed into the nearby Faultless Healthcare Linen building’s office area, Fire Chief Dennis Jenkerson said. The explosion appears to have been an accident, but investigators were trying to pinpoint what caused the cast iron boiler — estimated to weigh a ton to a ton and a half — to explode, Jenkerson said. The blast occurred in a largely industrial area of south St. Louis.