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ST. LOUIS (AP) — A construction worker from southwest Illinois has died several weeks after suffering severe burns in a gas explosion while on the job.
John "Doug" Behme of Worden was injured April 6 when the crew he was working with in Maryville hit a 10-inch gas line and triggered an explosion.
The Belleville News-Democrat reports that officials initially believed the 44-year-old would recover from the burns on 70 percent of his body. His lungs weren't damaged in the accident and he underwent surgery about a week ago.
Behme died Friday morning in the burn unit of a St. Louis hospital. A funeral was planned for Monday morning at a church in Worden.
The accident remains under investigation.
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