St. Joseph, Mo. ? The mother of a construction worker killed in an explosion at a nearly completed pork processing plant has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the plant’s owner and five other companies.

Masonry worker Andrew Bauer, 24, of Stewartsville, died Oct. 12 as he finished a wall at the $130 million Triumph Foods plant.

Bauer’s mother, Melinda Fisher, of Kansas City, alleges she suffered emotional and financial losses. She is seeking unspecified actual and punitive damages.

The state fire marshal found that gas leaking from an open valve fueled the explosion, which left 14 others injured. Eleven of those workers filed a separate lawsuit earlier this month.

The fire marshal’s report listed halogen lighting, fans in the ductwork of the heating system and a striker and torch found in the hallway of the kitchen as possible ignition sources.

“The release of natural gas with a subsequent explosion and fire normally does not occur absent negligence,” the lawsuit filed Friday in Buchanan County Circuit Court said. “Defendants showed a conscious disregard for the health, safety and welfare of Andrew Bauer and others.”

Besides Triumph Foods, the lawsuit also names the construction management firm A. Epstein and Sons International, of Chicago; Southern Union Co., which is the parent company of Missouri Gas Energy; plumbing contractor IHP Industrial, of St. Joseph; and contractors Superior Air Handling, of Clearfield, Utah, and Dragoo Metal Works, of St. Joseph.

John P. Barnett, a spokesman for Southern Union, told The Associated Press it was company policy not to discuss pending litigation. Mike Dragoo, owner of Dragoo Metal Works, declined to comment.

An e-mail message left late Friday with a company spokeswoman for Epstein was not returned, nor were phone messages the AP left with the other defendants.

After a three-month delay, the plant is scheduled to begin regular operations on Jan. 3.