Bunker Hill Death Notice, Cause of Death – The coroner for Madison County announced Friday that an explosion at an ammunition mill in East Alton on Thursday killed a man from Bunker Hill who was 60 years old. According to a news release provided by Winchester County Coroner Steve Nonn, Oscar “Zeke” R. Bettorf was identified as the victim at the Winchester facility run by Olin Corp. in Clayton, Missouri.
The inquiry into what caused the explosion at 600 Powder Mill Road, according to Nonn, is still ongoing. Olin Security, the East Alton Police Department, the Illinois State Police Crime Scene Investigations, the Secretary of State Police Bomb Squad, the State Fire Marshal’s Office, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives are all working together on the investigation.
Bettorf died on Thursday afternoon in the facility, it was decided. The news release states that “he was the driver of a lorry with a trailer loaded with shotgun shell primers that exploded while being transported inside the Olin property.” “He was driving the truck while it was inside Olin’s property.”
Furthermore, a spokeswoman for the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration claimed that the government is investigating whether any safety regulations were violated. Despite the fact that his crew had been to the scene, the East Alton Fire crew spokesman indicated that he was unable to provide any information about the incident.