Peabody Man Killed in Chemical Plant Explosion

This story was originally reported by Bryan McGonigle.

A chemical explosion at Dow Chemical in North Andover Wednesday afternoon left one man dead.

The man's name still wasn't released Thursday night, but the Salem News was reporting the Essex County District Attorney's office had confirmed the victim was a 51-year-old Peabody resident.

At just before noon Wednesday, North Andover police received an alert of an explosion at the Willow Street plant. Firefighters and EMTs rushed to the scene, where they found one employee covered in severe burns.

That employee was Medflighted to Boston, where he later died from his injuries, North Andover Fire Investigator Jeff Crosby confirmed.

The man was working in a lab when the lab exploded.

There were no other injuries reported, and it was determined that no one else was in the lab.

The cause of the explosion is still under investigation by the Fire Department, police and the Massachusetts Fire Marshall's office, Crosby said.