KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Family members of four people killed in a grain elevator explosion last year in northeast Kansas are suing employees of Bartlett Grain Co., including the current president.

The wrongful death lawsuits come less than five months after federal investigators pinned the blame for the blast on the Kansas City, Mo., company. The suits were filed Monday by families of four Bartlett employees. Two grain inspectors also were killed in the explosion.

The families contend Bartlett president Bob Knief and others disregarded the workers' safety and health.

Investigators determined the October 2011 explosion in Atchison, Kan., was an accident. But federal safety officials accused Bartlett of willfully ignoring workplace rules. Officials proposed $406,000 in fines.

Bartlett officials say they still believe employees acted reasonably at all times prior to the explosion.

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