PETERBOROUGH, N.H. — An explosion rocked a small-town ball bearings plant Monday, sending at least 15 people to the hospital, but a company spokeswoman said none of their injuries appeared to be life-threatening.
The blast blew out windows on the building’s ground floor, Peterborough Fire Department spokesman Eric Bowman said. There was no fire, and a hazardous-materials team was investigating.
It was unclear what caused the explosion at New Hampshire Ball Bearings Inc., company spokeswoman Kathy Gerrity said. First responders will try to determine the extent of the damage to the facility, and it was unknown when it will be back in operation because it would need to be inspected and deemed safe first, she said.
The plant, in the southwest New Hampshire town that was the inspiration for Thornton Wilder’s play “Our Town,” manufactures high-tech parts for the aerospace industry and employs 700 people. Gerrity said she wasn’t sure how many people were inside when the explosion happened Monday afternoon but there are usually about 450 working around that time.
