The Latest: Utility worker killed in blast identified

CANTON, Ill. (AP) - The Latest on a deadly gas explosion in central Illinois (all times local):

10 a.m.

Authorities have identified an Illinois utility worker who was killed in a natural gas explosion as 38-year-old Arturo Silva Jr., of Mapleton.

Fulton County Coroner Steve Hines identified the Ameren Illinois worker on Thursday, a day after the explosion that rocked a downtown square in the central Illinois community of Canton. Several other people were injured in the blast, including three other Ameren workers.

Canton Police Chief Rick Nichols said at a news conference Thursday that a two-block area around the square is still blocked off. He says it appears a contractor damaged a gas line while digging and that the utility workers were called to the scene. The cause of the blast remains under investigation.

Nichols says the blast's impact was "tremendous" and that it caused serious damage.

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5:05 a.m.

Authorities say the area around a downtown square is closed as crews assess damage from a natural gas explosion that killed one person and injured several others in the central Illinois community of Canton.

The Fulton County Emergency Services and Disaster Agency says early Thursday that secondary searches found no additional casualties and area businesses will remain closed for the day.

Officials say the explosion Wednesday shattered windows several blocks away and forced the evacuation of residents from nearby apartment buildings.

Authorities said the cause of the explosion hasn't been determined. It took place shortly before 6 p.m. after Ameren Illinois workers arrived about 5:30 p.m. following a report that a contractor had damaged a gas line.

Canton, a city of about 14,000, is about 30 miles southwest of Peoria.