Cement company employee killed in accident near Chico airport

CHICO, Calif. - 7:57 P.M. UPDATE - An employee of a cement company was killed after an explosion involving a cement truck near the Chico airport on Friday, according to the Chico Police Department.

At approximately 3:49 p.m., on Oct. 21, the Chico Police Dispatch Center responded to a 911 call on a reported explosion and injury to a construction worker at a project located off Boeing Avenue in North Chico.

Officials say Chico Police, Chico Fire and Butte Medics responded immediately to find a man unresponsive near a concrete pumping truck. First responders took lifesaving measures, but officials say the man succumbed to his injuries and was declared dead on the scene.

Officers told Action News Now they believe the man was a construction worker on the Cohasset widening project.

The cause of the explosion is under investigation, but officials believe a clogged pipe caused the explosion in the cement truck.

The victim's identity is being withheld, pending notification of the next of kin.

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A 44-year-old man killed in an explosion near the Chico airport has been identified.