MACEDONIA, — Macedonia officials provided an update on Thursday afternoon in what is being called a "tragic industrial accident" involving a tank explosion with sodium hydroxide.
According to a news release, Cleveland-based company EnviroServe is handling the cleanup of the site with oversight from the Ohio EPA.
The explosion happened on Wednesday morning at Royal Chemical in the 8000 block of South Freeway Drive. Upon arriving at the scene, fire officials found a tanker truck ripped in half from the explosion.
Macedonia Fire Chief Brian Ripley told 3News' Kaitor Kay that three tanker trucks were lined up side by side outside of the plant. Workers were loading up a truck when one of them exploded, ripping it in half.
Ripley says three people were injured in the incident. Two of them were truck drivers and one was an employee of Royal Chemicals. Two individuals were taken to MetroHealth in Cleveland, where one victim remains hospitalized with life-threatening injuries.
Officials said the Summit County HazMat team was able to contain the chemical spill on Wednesday.
"EnviroServe’s cleanup of both the property and the environment will include, among other things, a drainage ditch to the east side of the building and the decontamination and removal of affected vehicles in the parking lot," the news release said.
Ripley also noted that the spill was contained to company property and that both Royal Chemical buildings were evacuated.
"In terms of air quality for people that live in the community or traveling through the community, it is completely safe. The waterways have not been affected. It's completely safe to drink the water and breathe the air," said Macedonia Mayor Nick Molnar.
There was no fire by the time Macedonia firefighters responded to the explosion, but the tanker truck was ripped in half with parts of the tanker strewn both inside and outside the building as well as on the roof and across the rest of the property. Firefighters searched and secured the scene while a drone team surveyed the explosion site.
The cause of the explosion is still under investigation. Ripley said officials know that the incident involved sodium hydroxide, a highly corrosive and hazardous material.
The Ohio EPA provided 3News with the following update on Thursday:
"We are providing support to the incident commander and the responsible party regarding mitigative efforts to the environment resulting from the incident. Containment measures are in place, and crews are working to recover the gel-like material. The focus today is to decontaminate and remove the 58 impacted automobiles and three impacted semi-trucks."
WATCH: Macedonia officials held a pair of briefings throughout Wednesday with the latest on the explosion.
South Freeway Drive was closed in both directions in the area of Royal Chemical for much of Wednesday due to the explosion. According to the Macedonia Police Department and Fire Department, the road was reopened just before 8:30 p.m.