10 hurt in explosion at Dippin’ Dots factory in Kentucky

Ten people were hurt in an explosion at a Dippin’ Dots factory in Kentucky as a truck unloaded liquid nitrogen, police and company officials said.

The blast at the factory in Paducah late Wednesday afternoon occurred in a building owned by Dippin’ Dots used to manufacture ingredients for a third-party company, police said.

A truck was unloading liquid nitrogen used to flash-freeze the popular ice cream treat into a storage tank when the explosion rocked the facility, injuring 10 of 11 people inside, Paducah police spokeswoman Robin Newberry said.

Nine of the 10 injured employees were treated and released from hospitals late Wednesday, Dippin’ Dots spokeswoman Billie Stuber told The Post.

“This is a terrible accident, which occurred at our contract manufacturing facility and did not involve our headquarters and ice cream production facility,” company officials said in a statement. “At this moment, our focus is on the well-being of our fellow employees who were injured.”

Officials arrive at the scene of the explosion at the Dippin' Dots facility in Kentucky.
Officials arrive at the scene of the explosion at the Dippin’ Dots facility in Kentucky.
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Dippin’ Dots CEO Scott Fischer asked the public to pray for the impacted workers.

“My heart is with our employees, especially those injured in this afternoon’s terrible incident,” Fischer said in a statement to The Post. “I care deeply for our employees – they are family to me.”

The explosion occurred at a different plant from where a 2019 blast injured four people at a Dippin’ Dots manufacturing facility on Charter Oak Drive, the Paducah Sun reported.

A city rep said at the time the plant appeared to have a nitrogen leak.

The cause of Wednesday’s blast was not immediately clear. A roadway leading to the facility remained closed until early Thursday, WPSD reported.

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