Three contractors have died in an explosion near Garner in White County.  It happened at about 2:19 at 194 Tank Farm Road.

TEPPCO spokesperson Rick Rainey says the three were employed by C&C Welding from Elizabethtown, Kentucky.  Their names have not been released, pending notification of next of kin.

 Rainey says the three were about to install more equipment on the tank this afternoon when the blast happened.  The cause is still under investigation. TEPPCO owns the facility.

TEPPCO, Inc. Senior Vice President Leonard Mallet says the tank was "isolated and inspected" before the three entered and were allegedly inside when it exploded.

The White County Office of Emergency Management Coordinator says the tank was meant to hold unleaded gasoline and had been emptied and cleaned only a few days earlier.

Rainey says no one else was injured and he did not know how many employees were there when the blast happened.  He said the four other tanks at the facility were not damaged.  The tanks hold unleaded and diesel gas and Mallet said it also has some jet fuels.

Rainey said state and federal authorities have been notified and they are cooperating with them to determine what happened.

A woman who lives on Gafford Road said she heard a large boom.

"I looked across the field and I saw a big plume of smoke across the field coming out of the tank.  It went away and the sides of the tank just sucked in," Maureen Gray said.

Gray said the pressure caused her knees to buckle and she nearly fell to the ground.

"I was absolutely terrified because I've lived here since I was four years old.  I was told if it had gas in it and it blew up, it would disintegrate everything around it," she said.

Gray said she did not see or hear any lightning or thunder at the time.

The explosion could be heard from several miles away and residents crowded Gafford Road to get a look at the facility.  No one was allowed down Tank Farm Road except for emergency personnel and law enforcement.

KARK 4 caught up with Mallet at the airport as he arrived from Houston.  He said TEPPCO is sending their deepest condolences to the families of the workers killed.

"They certainly are in our thoughts and prayers tonight.  It was a tragic incident.  We are deeply saddened by the events that occurred tonight," he said.