Major John Boyd from the LaPorte County Sheriff’s Department, whose department is assisting the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the state fire marshal’s office in this investigation, said investigators are waiting for engineers to assess the elevator to see if it’s structurally sound. If it is deemed structurally sound, investigators can get into the elevator to look for evidence in what caused the explosion.
There have been speculations that grain dust could be to blame.
The explosion Monday afternoon killed 67-year-old James Swank who was a resident of Union Mills and worked at the Union Mills Co-Alliance for seven years.
