2 injured in ammonia explosion at Chicago-area food plant

ELK GROVE VILLAGE, Ill. (AP) - Authorities in the Chicago suburb of Elk Grove Village say an ammonia explosion heavily damaged a food processing plant and injured two people.

Elk Grove Village Fire Chief Richard Mikel says a "tremendous amount of damage" was caused at the Grecian Delight Foods plant on Friday morning. He says the blast happened about 7 a.m., blowing out two of the building's outer walls. Crews were able to stop the leaking chemical a few hours later. The cause of the blast is under investigation.

Mikel says about 100 workers were present at the time but no one was near the explosion because it was located in a section of the building that's under construction.

Officials say one female employee and a hazmat worker were taken to area hospitals with injuries that weren't life threatening.