Rocket Engine EXPLODES in AEROJET Weapons Plan in ARKANSAS

An official says a rocket motor exploded and caused a fire at a weapons factory in southern Arkansas, and that one worker is unaccounted for.

Aerojet spokesman Glenn Mahone says a rocket motor exploded Wednesday afternoon at the company's plant in East Camden.

Renee Preslar, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Emergency Management, says fire crews are battling a blaze at the 1,200-acre compound. She also said one person was reported missing from the fire at the Aerojet facility. She said the industrial park where the plant is located was evacuated and fire crews were working the fire.

Aerojet employs 500 people at the plant. The company says about 450 people would have been working when the explosion occurred about 3:15 p.m.
Calhoun County sheriff's jailer James Newton said "some kind of fire explosion" had occurred but he had no further information because officers were at the scene and had not reported in.

Preslar said she did not have any reports of injuries.

Aerojet, a GenCorp. Inc. company, is based in Sacramento, Calif.