June 10, 2008
AP
ALVO, Neb. (AP) - A 110-foot grain elevator containing some 40,000 bushels of soybeans has collapsed without warning in Alvo, hitting another silo.
Photo: Image of grain elevators before both collapsed. No known cause to date.
No one was injured. The second silo's instability prompted officials to evacuate about 10 nearby homes. That silo likely will have to be demolished.
Nebraska 63, which runs past the elevator, was closed, along with some nearby county roads.
Neighbors say the collapse caused a loud boom and shook windows.
Bobby Hanes Jr., son-in-law of Alvo Grain owner Gordon Ganz, speculates that an air pocket in the grain pile may have collapsed.
It's not clear what's next for the business. Ganz filed for bankruptcy in April and the Nebraska Public Service Commission took possession of the inventory.
Information from: Lincoln Journal Star, http://www.journalstar.co
http://www.nebraska.tv/Global/story.asp?S=8460934&nav=menu605_2