8 injured in Colorado steel mill explosion: A 'rare' event, fire department says

Seven people were injured after an accident caused an explosion at a Colorado steel mill.

Eight people were reported injured Saturday after a furnace exploded at a Colorado steel mill, according to officials. Firefighters received a call about the explosion at the Evraz Rocky Mountain Steel Plant in Pueblo, Colorado, around 6 p.m. local time, according to the Pueblo Fire Department. Assistant Fire Chief Keith Miller told Colorado Springs ABC affiliate KRDO that an electric arc furnace, which is used to melt steel, exploded. Firefighters found 130 tons of steel inside the furnace at max temperature and had to wait for the metal to cool down before they went in and operated, Miller said. Fire from the exploded furnace was on three different levels of the building, according to Miller, who called the incident a "rare event."