Video Captures The Moment A Grain Silo Collapses In Illinois

This was a close call for everyone around.

A video that has been going viral on social media shows the moment a grain silo collapsed in a small town in Illinois.

The collapsed occurred at Donovan Farmers Cooperative and first responders were able to clear the area just 30 minutes before the silo came tumbling down.

Watch the moment it happened here:

Wednesday, a grain elevator collapsed in the village of Martinton, Illinois out of Iroquois County. In the video, the concrete grain bin had a gash in the center of the silo where corn was spilling out before it collapsed. pic.twitter.com/Be7PRVDL3W

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NBC 5 Chicago provided further context behind the silo’s collapse:

Startling video captured the moment a massive grain bin collapsed in Iroquois County, sending people running to escape from harm’s way.

The collapse was reported Wednesday in Martinton, a community of around 300 residents roughly 20 miles southeast of Kankakee. Footage captured by the Watseka Fire Department showed the concrete grain bin give way in mere seconds, spilling beans, sending sparks flying and knocking down power lines.

Donovan Farmers Cooperative, which operates the facility, said employees noticed a cement silo was showing signs of distress, reported WAND-TV, the NBC affiliate in Decatur. Employees alerted ambulance personnel who had responded to the site for an unrelated call.

One of the crew members “noticed a bulge of concrete and rebar beginning to form on the north side of the silo,” the Iroquois County Emergency Management Agency said in a news release.

The ambulance crew member notified the fire chief, who requested multiple departments respond to the site.

Firefighter had evacuated the area just minutes prior and were planning to move the contents – 30,000 bushels of harvested soybeans – to a different silo.

“By moving the beans, we believe, the vibration and stuff, started the silo cracking a little bit more,” said Chief Jeffery Meyer of the Martinton Fire Department. “So then we started moving personnel back. Within a matter of minutes, it collapsed.”

Here’s a video of the silo just 30 minutes before it collapsed:

A close up view of the silo collapse in Martinton, IL.😬😬😬😬😬😬😬😬😬😬😬😬
The collapse was reported Wednesday in Martinton, a community of around 300 residents roughly 20 miles southeast of Kankakee. pic.twitter.com/344uy3QwkE

— UFO mania (@maniaUFO) October 18, 2025

In just one state over in Wisconsin a young man died in June after a silo collapsed on him, per WBAY:

One person died Tuesday morning following a silo collapse in Manitowoc County.

Manitowoc County Sheriff’s Office said at around 10:34 a.m., deputies and first responders responded to a call at the 11000 block of County Highway F, in the Township of Meeme, for a report of a silo collapse involving injuries.

The sheriff’s office said silos on the farm property were being dismantled as part of a scheduled project. During the process, one of the silos collapsed in an unintended direction, striking a nearby building on the farm. An employee of the farm was inside the building and became trapped beneath the debris.

The man was pronounced deceased at the scene, the sheriff’s office said. His name is being withheld pending notification of the family.

Responding and assisting agencies included the Newton Fire Department and First Responders, Valders Fire Department and EMS, St. Nazianz Fire Department, Custer Street Towing, the Manitowoc County Coroner’s Office, and Manitowoc County Joint Dispatch.