Coroner: 3 killed in Illinois blast were apparently fishing Associated Press Text size Copy shortlink:
NORTH UTICA, Ill. Three men who died after apparently igniting an explosive powder near northern Illinois Starved Rock State Park appeared to have been fishing along a river before the blast killed them, the coroner said.
LaSalle County Coroner Rich Ploch said the men were apparently relaxing while fishing along the Illinois River on Thursday evening before the black powder substance was ignited in a hole.
He said there was no device involved in the explosion, although black powder can be used to make fireworks.
Ploch theorized the men had either lit the powder for entertainment or, more likely, they were trying to light a fire to cook food that was found nearby.
Three fishermen kill themselves igniting explosive black powder in hole along river
By AP Reporter
NORTH UTICA, Ill. - Three men who died after apparently igniting an explosive powder near northern Illinois Starved Rock State Park appeared to have been fishing along a river before the blast killed them.
LaSalle County Coroner Rich Ploch says the black powder was ignited Thursday evening in a hole along the
He says there was no device involved in the deadly explosion, although black powder can be used to make fireworks.
2021/05/08 02:31 NORTH UTICA, Ill. (AP) Three people died after apparently igniting a “black powder substance” and causing an explosion near a state park in northern Illinois, a coroner said. First responders were called to an area along the Illinois River west of a Starved Rock State Park boat ramp where they they discovered three dead males around 7:20 p.m. Thursday, authorities said. Black powder was the original gunpowder and can be used to make fireworks. “With assistance from the (Illinois) State Police, the Kane County Bomb Squad Unit & the FBI, it was determined that the individuals appeared to have ignited a type of black powder substance along an area near the riverbank,” LaSalle County Coroner Rich Ploch said.
UpdatedFri, May 7, 2021 at 3:08 pm CT
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Three men died after officials say they ignited explosive black powder at a boat ramp near Starved Rock State Park. (Tim Moran/Patch)
UTICA, IL Three men died in an explosion near Starved Rock State Park Thursday evening, the LaSalle County coroner s office confirmed Friday. Officials said the men appear to have brought black powder with them to the site and were killed after igniting it.
Authorities said the explosion came from a black powder device along the bank of the Illinois River. First responders were called to the area of Starved Rock State Park near the old Illinois Route 178 bridge at about 7:20 p.m, said Illinois State Police. After more than five hours of searching, emergency crews found the bodies of three men.
3 Killed In Black Powder Explosion At Starved Rock State Park
CBS Chicago 5/7/2021 Syndicated Local – CBS Chicago
NORTH UTICA, Ill. (CBS/AP) Three people were killed Thursday evening when a black powder device exploded in Starved Rock State Park, along a bank of the Illinois River.
Emergency crews were called to a boat ramp at the park around 7:20 p.m. Thursday, and found three dead males, authorities said.
“With assistance from the (Illinois) State Police, the Kane County Bomb Squad Unit & the FBI, it was determined that the individuals appeared to have ignited a type of black powder substance along an area near the river bank,” LaSalle County Coroner Rich Ploch said.