Drone footage captures scope of damage, destruction from deadly Louisville explosion

A deadly explosion at a chemical facility in Louisville, Kentucky on Tuesday is now under investigation.

The explosion occurred around 3:00 p.m. local time at the Givaudan Sense Colour facility, blowing out windows in the surrounding area. The Louisville Metro Emergency Services called the situation a "hazardous materials incident" on X. 

Louisville Fire Department Chief Brian O'Neill said during the press conference that upon arrival the department knew that they were not only dealing with a fire. Instead, there was a structural collapse and a hazardous materials incident. 

Aerial drone footage at the scene of the explosion shows the damage that it left behind. City officials said that the explosion also damaged several nearby homes and businesses.

See drone footage of damage explosion left behind in Louisville

Two people were killed in the explosion

“The first victim passed away at the hospital and died as a result of the injuries sustained in the blast,” Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said at the Wednesday morning press conference. “The second victim was found in the rubble late last night as Louisville firefighters went back into the building to confirm that everyone had been accounted for.” 

“There's going to be an investigation to exactly what happened,” O'Neill said. “I know many of you are probably concerned at what actually happened. Why did it happen? And I'm going to apologize in advance, we don't have those answers immediately, That is going to be a part of the investigation.” 

Executive Director Louisville Metro Emergency Services Jody Meiman said that they worked to evacuate the area.  

“We only evacuated about a one and a half block area to the people that were directly involved, and it was mainly because they couldn't shelter in place because their windows were broken out due to the explosion,” he said. “Some of the the firefighters that weren't assigned inside the building, knocked on doors. We got the people that needed to get out of the area to a certain location where they were safe.” 

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Two victims were employees at Givaudan Sense Colour

Stefanie Lauber, head of corporate communications for Givaudan Sense Colour, told The Courier-Journal, part of the USA TODAY NETWORK, that the two people killed in the explosion were employees, saying the company is "deeply saddened" by what took place. There is no immediate threat to the surrounding community, she added, and Givaudan is investigating and cooperating with authorities.

Dr. Jason Smith, University of Louisville Hospital's chief medical officer, said doctors who treated victims dealt with a "spectrum of injuries" consistent with an explosion, including blast injuries, thermal injuries and injuries from falling debris.

Initially, all employees were believed to have been accounted for shortly after the explosion, Greenberg said. But O'Neill said later in the evening it became clear one person had not been found. Firefighters continued their search, he said, and found the second victim fatally injured "in an area into the center of the rubble" just after midnight.

Mayor Greenberg held a moment of silence for the two people who were killed, who had not yet been publicly identified out of respect for their families.

Contributing: Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY.

Ahjané Forbes is a reporter on the National Trending Team at USA TODAY. Ahjané covers breaking news, car recalls, crime, food recalls, health, lottery, and public policy stories. Email her at [email protected]. Follow her on Instagram, Threads and X (Twitter) @forbesfineest.