Smoke was seen billowing into the sky from what appeared to be a steel mill in northwest Indiana Tuesday afternoon following reports of a possible explosion.
Authorities could not immediately be reached for information surrounding what happened, but the Northwest Indiana Times reported that residents around the Cleveland-Cliffs Burns Harbor and as far as Chesterton felt the blast, some reporting their homes shook.
Portage police confirmed to the Times they were responding to the scene.
A spokesperson for Cleveland-Cliffs Burns Harbor said the incident was "not a major event," but that it occurred at a slag pit on the property and resulted in a minor fire. No injuries were reported, Patricia Persico, director of communications, told NBC 5.
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Images posted to social media showed a large plume of red and brown smoke at the scene. The smoke appeared to clear quickly, with none seen by 1 p.m. Tuesday.
Authorities did not immediately respond to NBC 5's requests for comment.
According to its website, Burns Harbor is Cleveland-Cliffs’ second-largest U.S. facility and is a steelmaking facility located on Lake Michigan in Northwest Indiana, 50 miles southeast of Chicago. The plant operates two blast furnaces.
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