Follow-up: Search of Peoria Ethanol Plant Completed With Nothing of Concern Found, One-Mile Evacuation Lifted Saturday Afternoon
There is a new development in the explosive-device incident at the BioUrja ethanol plant in Peoria, Illinois: law enforcement officers finished searching the entire facility on Saturday afternoon, November 14, found nothing of concern, and the one-mile evacuation order was lifted at 1 p.m. Central, allowing residents to return.
Peoria Police Chief Brad Dixon said Saturday that search teams began working through the sprawling facility, about the size of 44 and a half football fields, early Saturday and finished before 1 p.m. In a statement on Facebook, the Peoria Police Department said nothing "of concern" was found and the evacuation notice was lifted. Peoria and East Peoria, on opposite banks of the Illinois River, both lifted their evacuations, and the river closure around Peoria was also lifted.
A suspicious device deemed a "credible threat" had been found near the plant on Friday, November 13, and was neutralized on Friday night. Dixon on Saturday still would not confirm what the device was or what it was made of, saying that remains under determination; the one-mile potential blast radius was set based not solely on the device itself but also on the ethanol and other combustible materials nearby.
Explosives experts from the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives helped search the facility and are aiding the hunt for whoever was responsible for the device. The criminal investigation is under way, and officials have not shared whether they have any suspects. The plant's owner, the BioUrja Group of Houston, Texas, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
(Source: Reuters)
Source: Reuters
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：伊利诺伊河上的 Murray Baker Bridge，连接 Peoria 与 East Peoria（资料图），本次疏散范围跨两岸。Bohao Zhao 摄，CC BY 3.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The Murray Baker Bridge over the Illinois River between Peoria and East Peoria (file photo); the evacuation zone spanned both banks. By Bohao Zhao, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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- 2026-11-14Follow-up: Search of Peoria Ethanol Plant Completed With Nothing of Concern Found, One-Mile Evacuation Lifted Saturday AfternoonThis story
