ATCHISON ? Four people were injured Friday when the distillery at an Atchison alcohol plant exploded, throwing debris across Main Street and shaking surrounding buildings.

The cause of the explosion at Midwest Grain Products Inc. and the extent of damage were unknown Friday night, said Steve Pickman, the company’s vice president of corporate communications.

The company manufactures wheat proteins and starches, in addition to producing beverage alcohol, industrial alcohol and ethanol.

Pickman would not release the names of those injured, but he said two outside contractors who were at the plant may have sustained broken bones.

A male employee was treated for burns at KU Med in Kansas City, Kan., where he was in fair condition Friday. A female employee may have sustained eye abrasions from flying glass, Pickman said.

“We’re very fortunate,” Pickman said of the relatively limited injuries. “It’s miraculous, actually, with the size of the explosions.”

Pickman said he was in his office on the other side of Main Street when the explosion occurred around 2:35 p.m. He felt the ground shake, looked out his window and saw a big ball of fire shoot through the roof.

“At the time it seemed it was all in slow motion, but now I realize it happened very fast,” he said.

In her home little more than a block away, Jean Brown also felt the ground tremble but wasn’t sure what to make of it.

First she thought her house was falling down around her, and then she thought two trains may have collided on a nearby track.

“Then I went outside and thought, ‘Oh my land,'” she said.

Debris mostly aluminum siding from one building had spread across the street and smoke was coming out of the building’s cavity, Brown said.

The plant covers more than 17 acres and operates 24 hours per day. It employs 320 people, including some who were supposed to vote on an employment contract Friday.

Atchison is about 40 miles north of Lawrence.