Solos Extract Co. in Sand Springs, Okla., after an explosion (KOKI).
Authorities say the owner of an Oklahoma THC extraction business is trying to evade arrest after a “massive explosion” at his facility left two men dead.
Court records show Ryan Bassham has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder.
Firefighters with the Sand Springs Fire Department were called around 1 a.m. to a blaze at 421 S. Lincoln Ave., where they found heavy flames pouring from a building in an industrial complex. One victim was declared dead at the scene, while a second man was taken by paramedics to a hospital and later died.
The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation is now leading the probe into what happened.
According to the Tulsa World, officials determined the explosion was chemical in nature. The fire marshal told the newspaper he had ordered the company to stop operating the week before because it failed a fire inspection.
“He basically told them they weren’t allowed to work until they fixed the discrepancies that he listed and they have not done that up to this point,” Sand Springs Deputy Police Chief Todd Enzbrenner told the newspaper.
The business was identified by the newspaper as Solos Extract Co. Officials said it was using highly flammable gases, including butane or propane, in the process of extracting THC.
Local Fox KOKI reporter Devyn Lyon reported that one of the employees of the company was living in the building and was killed when the explosion occurred. Cops have yet to identify the two victims.
The blast damaged at least 25 other businesses and could be felt up to 30 miles away, per local NBC affiliate KJRH. Photos from the scene showed the warehouse decimated with debris scatted throughout the property.
“I was scared to death, I didn’t know what had happened,” a neighbor said. “The whole roof is blown off on half of that building. It looks like somebody peeled a banana.”
Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler told the TV station that authorities believe he is on the run.
“We have reason to believe he may be attempting to avoid arrest,” he said. “If anyone has knowledge as to his whereabouts, contact local law enforcement.”
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