Texas fertilizer plant explosion kills 15, injuring over 160 others
Source: Agencies |
April 19, 2013, Friday
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A massive explosion at a Texas fertilizer plant killed as many as 15 people and injured more than 160 others, shaking the ground with the strength of a small earthquake and leveling homes and businesses for blocks in every direction.
Rescuers searched rubble early yesterday for survivors.
The explosion in downtown West, about 130 kilometers south of Dallas, could be heard dozens of miles away. It sent flames shooting into the night sky and rained burning embers, shrapnel and debris down on shocked and frightened residents.
"They are still getting injured folks out and they are evacuating people from their homes," Waco police spokesman William Patrick Swanton said yesterday morning.
Swanton said officials went building to building in the largely decimated area around the plant that exploded with the strength of a small earthquake in downtown West, a farming community about 20 miles north of Waco.
Swanton said authorities believe that between five and 15 people were killed in the blast, but stressed that is an early estimate as search and rescue operations remain under way. There is no indication the blast was anything other than an industrial accident, he said.
Among those believe to be dead are a group of volunteer firefighters and a single law enforcement officer who responded to a fire call at the West Fertilizer Co about an hour before the blast. They remained unaccounted for.
Large investigation team
The US Chemical Safety Board said it was deploying a large investigation team to West. An Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms national response team that investigates all large fires and explosions also was coming in, bringing fire investigators, certified explosives specialists, chemists, canines and forensic specialists. But entry to the blast site wasn't expected until later.
"It's still too hot to get in there," said Franceska Perot, an ATF spokesperson.
American Red Cross crews from across Texas also headed to the scene to help evacuated residents.
The explosion that struck around 8pm on Wednesday leveled a four-block area around the plant that a member of the city council, Al Vanek, said was "totally decimated."
The toll included 50 to 75 houses, an apartment complex with about 50 units that one state police officer said was reduced to "a skeleton," a middle school and the West Rest Haven Nursing Home, from which first-responders evacuated 133 patients, some in wheelchairs.
Other witnesses compared the scene to the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, and authorities said the plant made materials similar to that used to fuel the bomb that tore apart that city's Murrah Federal Building.
Although authorities said it will be some time before they know the full extent of the loss of life, they put the number of those injured at more than 160. West Mayor Tommy Muska told reporters that his city of about 2,800 residents needs "your prayers."
"We've got a lot of people who are hurt, and there's a lot of people, I'm sure, who aren't gonna be here tomorrow," Muska said. "We're gonna search for everybody. We're gonna make sure everybody's accounted for. That's the most important thing right now."
Rescuers searched rubble early yesterday for survivors.
The explosion in downtown West, about 130 kilometers south of Dallas, could be heard dozens of miles away. It sent flames shooting into the night sky and rained burning embers, shrapnel and debris down on shocked and frightened residents.
"They are still getting injured folks out and they are evacuating people from their homes," Waco police spokesman William Patrick Swanton said yesterday morning.
Swanton said officials went building to building in the largely decimated area around the plant that exploded with the strength of a small earthquake in downtown West, a farming community about 20 miles north of Waco.
Swanton said authorities believe that between five and 15 people were killed in the blast, but stressed that is an early estimate as search and rescue operations remain under way. There is no indication the blast was anything other than an industrial accident, he said.
Among those believe to be dead are a group of volunteer firefighters and a single law enforcement officer who responded to a fire call at the West Fertilizer Co about an hour before the blast. They remained unaccounted for.
Large investigation team
The US Chemical Safety Board said it was deploying a large investigation team to West. An Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms national response team that investigates all large fires and explosions also was coming in, bringing fire investigators, certified explosives specialists, chemists, canines and forensic specialists. But entry to the blast site wasn't expected until later.
"It's still too hot to get in there," said Franceska Perot, an ATF spokesperson.
American Red Cross crews from across Texas also headed to the scene to help evacuated residents.
The explosion that struck around 8pm on Wednesday leveled a four-block area around the plant that a member of the city council, Al Vanek, said was "totally decimated."
The toll included 50 to 75 houses, an apartment complex with about 50 units that one state police officer said was reduced to "a skeleton," a middle school and the West Rest Haven Nursing Home, from which first-responders evacuated 133 patients, some in wheelchairs.
Other witnesses compared the scene to the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, and authorities said the plant made materials similar to that used to fuel the bomb that tore apart that city's Murrah Federal Building.
Although authorities said it will be some time before they know the full extent of the loss of life, they put the number of those injured at more than 160. West Mayor Tommy Muska told reporters that his city of about 2,800 residents needs "your prayers."
"We've got a lot of people who are hurt, and there's a lot of people, I'm sure, who aren't gonna be here tomorrow," Muska said. "We're gonna search for everybody. We're gonna make sure everybody's accounted for. That's the most important thing right now."
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