Molten metal burns 2 at steel mill

Melt shop closed while fire officials investigate

SEGUIN, Texas – Two workers at a Seguin steel mill were seriously injured when a ladle full of molten metal spilled in the company's melt shop.

The accident happened around 5 p.m. on Sunday at CMC Steel Texas.

One man suffered severe burns to 60 to 80 percent of his body. The other man has severe burns on his hands -- other than that, his condition is unknown.

Both men were taken by medical helicopter to San Antonio Military Medical Center for treatment.

Operations at the steel mill resumed Monday, but the melt shop will remain down for several days while the Guadalupe County fire marshal investigates.

Sunday's accident is the second fire at the steel mill in less than a month. In early July, an acre-wide pile of scrap metal caught fire. No one was injured, but it took firefighters 15 hours to put out the flames.

A spokesman for the company released this statement on Monday in regards to Sunday's accident:

"At approximately 5:00pm Sunday evening, August 3, CMC Steel Texas in Seguin, Texas experienced a ladle spill in the melt shop. The incident resulted in injuries to two employees who were airlifted to the San Antonio Army Medical Center in San Antonio at approximately 5:45pm.

"The plant was briefly evacuated as a standard precautionary measure. 'Our primary concern is for the wellbeing of our two employees and their families,' commented Matt Brace, Vice President Central Region, CMC Americas Division.

"Operations have resumed in the rolling mill and the melt shop will remain down several days while a thorough investigation is conducted into the cause of the incident."