A preliminary investigation is underway at Plant Bowen in Euharlee, where a large explosion Thursday injured four workers and wiped out the southern wall of the Georgia Power facility.

On Friday, Georgia Power officials assessed the damage and began their first analysis into what malfunctioned in the Unit Two Generator that caused the blast heard for miles across southern Bartow County. The entire plant has been offline since the explosion, and Georgia Power Spokesman Brian Green says it could remain that way for a while.

“At this time we don’t really have an idea of how the soon we’ll be able to get the plant back online or how long the investigation will take,” Green says. “The Unit Two Generator actually exploded, and at the time we we’re bringing it offline for some preventive maintenance. At that time, we had some equipment malfunction with the generator. But, we don’t have any specific details as to why the explosion occurred. Like I said, we’ve just begun the investigation and it’s probably going to take some time before we understand what the underlying cause was.”

Alongside other federal agencies, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has also initiated an investigation into the blast, but their inquiry could take upwards of six months.   

Over 400 workers are employed by the plant, which is the largest of its kind in North America. Of those, only four were injured when the blast rattled the facility and plummeted the building into smoke-filled darkness.    

The injuries reported were minor, and only one employee was taken to the hospital. He was treated and released later in the day.