Blast damages Kentucky UPS facility, hurts two workers

(Reuters) - Two United Parcel Service Inc employees were injured in an explosion on Wednesday that caused significant damage to one of the package delivery company's freight facilities in Lexington, Kentucky, a UPS spokesman said.

UPS said a gas leak from propane tanks inside a trailer may have caused the morning blast, some 80 miles east of Louisville. The company said the employees received minor injuries and that it shut down operations.

UPS spokesman Glenn Zaccara said he did not know when operations were expected to resume or how much freight volume was disrupted by the blast.

The Lexington Fire Department said six people were taken to a local hospital for observation after the blast.

Fire officials said the explosion caused significant structural damage to a maintenance facility, with the walls and roof hardest hit.

A photo released by the fire department appeared to show chunks of twisted metal and debris on the ground and roof in a loading area. The building was still standing.

"Nothing leads us to believe this is anything other than an accidental explosion," the fire department said in a string of tweets starting just after 8 a.m. EDT.

The building was evacuated and all employees have been accounted for, the fire department said.

UPS said it was working with authorities on an investigation.

(Reporting by Eric M. Johnson in Seattle; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and David Gregorio)

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