MUSKOGEE, Okla. (AP) -- Emergency workers found the bodies of two men Wednesday in the wreckage of a scrap metal plant that exploded in a fiery blast, shooting debris in the air, shattering windows in nearby homes and causing a shock felt up to 55 miles away.
The badly burned bodies were found near the furnace amid heavy damage at the Yaffe Iron and Metals plant, Muskogee Sheriff's Chief Deputy Darrin Smith said.
Two other men working at the plant were treated for injuries.
In all, 14 people were injured and four of those injuries were considered to be serious, including a couple of people who reported having chest pains, authorities said.
Bits and pieces of the oil-filled furnace, which was used to melt aluminum, were found near the men, whose identities were not immediately released.
``The furnace was, from the reports I got, blown completely out of the ground,'' Smith said.
Investigators from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were trying to reconstruct how the explosion occurred. No foul play was suspected.
Debris caused damage to a nearby shopping center and was to blame for injuries to nearly 10 people in an eight-block radius, Smith said.
Smith said he was surprised at the extent of the damage.
``I live 12 miles away and I saw the flash of light,'' he said. ``I thought it was lightning.
``There was flying debris that caused a house fire four blocks away. Several windows were shattered in the immediate area and the shock set off building alarms and burglar alarms.''
About a dozen families were forced to leave their damaged homes and spend the night in local motels.
Tamera Lewis' two daughters were injured when the explosion knocked them down and collapsed the ceiling in their house adjacent to the metals plant.
``It knocked us off the couch and into the floor,'' Lewis said. ``All I could see was smoke.''
Lewis' 7-year-old daughter got a bump on her head after the ceiling collapsed and her other daughter suffered a sprained ankle after being knocked against the wall during the explosion.
``It felt like a hurricane or something blew up right there beside me,'' said Lewis' 15-year-old daughter Gerrie.
The massive explosion was felt in the next county and up to 55 miles away.
Jackie Pryer drove from her home in Stigler after feeling the blast.
``We have a bridge there close to the house and we were afraid someone had run off the bridge,'' Pryer said. ``So it was enough of a thud for that.''
Heather Tullis was watching her children play in the living room when her house shuddered from the blast.
``We heard and felt it. It felt like a bomb, like a bomb had hit something,'' Tullis said. ``It felt like an earthquake.''
A window in Tullis' home eight blocks from the plant broke from the explosion.
Firefighters had controlled the fire by 11 p.m.
The cause of the fire was under investigation. Andrew Yaffe, president of the company, said the fire seemed to have started near the furnace.
``We think the it is furnace-related, but we're not positive of that. That's just a total guess,'' Yaffe said.
There have been minor explosions from a gas tank or other aluminum tank in the furnace before, but that's usually a small noise and some smoke, he said.
Heavy black acrid smoke poured from the plant after the blast. Residents near the plant were initially evacuated, but were later allowed to return to their homes after being warned to stay inside and avoid breathing the smoke, which was not believed to be toxic.
Law enforcement officers were going door to door to check on residents and damage, said Muskogee Police Sgt. Shannon Humphrey.
Lowe's hardware store stayed open late so residents could get supplies to repair broken-out windows.
