Explosion At TX Fertilizer Plant

[Kathianne]

Not good:

http://www.dallasnews.com/news/local-news/20130417-breaking-news-explosion-injuries-reported-at-fertilizer-plant-in-west-texas.ece




<script language="javascript" type="text/javascript"> $('div.floatingContent').css({display:'block'}); </script>
<!--set group's style class and style id to the wrapper of main contents--> A massive explosion at a fertilizer plant rocked the town of West, north of Waco, causing multiple injuries and leaving people trapped and buildings on fire.


Several firefighters were reported among those injured during the explosion, which occurred before 8 p.m. at West Fertilizer Inc., just off Interstate 35 about 80 miles south of Dallas.

Authorities were asking residents of the town to evacuate, and there were reports of dozens of people injured, including residents of a nearby nursing home.


“The fertilizer plant down here exploded,” said Jason Shelton, a clerk at the Czech Best Western Hotel in West. “It was a small fire and then water got sprayed the ammonia nitrate, and it exploded just like the Oklahoma City bomb.


“I live about a thousand feet from it and it blew my screen door off and my back windows,” Shelton said. “There’s houses leveled that were right next to it. We've got people injured and possibly dead.”

...



It sounds like the nursing home was hit hard, further in the article...

[logroller]

That's just terrible. Pretty tasteless plug at the end IMO.

[red states rule]

Here is the latest





Over 100 injured, unknown number killed in Texas plant explosion

DEVELOPING: An unknown number of people were killed and over 100 were injured in a massive explosion at a fertilizer plant near Waco, Texas on Wednesday night.
The explosion at West Fertilizer in West, a community about 20 miles north of Waco, happened shortly before 8 p.m. and could be heard as far away as Waxahachie, 45 miles to the north.


Although authorities said it will be some time before they know the full extent of the loss of life, Texas Department of Public Safety spokesman D.L. Wilson said just after midnight that an unknown number of people had died.


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."


Muska, who is a volunteer firefighter himself, says not all of his fellow firefighters are accounted for. He says the blast knocked his helmet off and shattered the windows of his nearby home.


A member of the city council, Al Vanek, said there is a four-block area around the explosion "that is totally decimated." Wilson said the damage was comparable to the destruction caused by the 1995 bomb blast that destroyed the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City.


KWTX reports dozens have been killed citing a hospital official, but Fox News has not confirmed the report.



Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/04/18/numerous-injuries-reported-in-large-explosion-at-texas-fertilizer-plant/#ixzz2QrGltXgC





The explosion was caught on video and it happens at the 30 sec mark



http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ROrpKx3aIjA

[jimnyc]

It appears it was a fertilizer plant. Dozens feared dead and lots and lots of property damage.


Emergency responders in West are still searching for survivors after a massive fertilizer plant explosion Wednesday night in West shook the town near Waco, flattening parts of it, killing five to 15 people and injuring many more.

Daylight revealed wide devastation, with downtown sidewalks littered with glass from broken storefront windows. The explosion reduced many homes to rubble and ripped the the brick facade off a 50-unit apartment complex near the West Fertilizer Co. plant.

Search and rescue teams were combing the crumbled sites in hopes of finding survivors. More than 160 injured people have been taken to hospitals, and emergency responders believe more victims might be trapped alive.

That "is good news to me," Sgt W. Patrick Swanton, the Waco police spokesman handling media briefings in West, said early Thursday morning. Authorities have "not gotten to the point of no return."

At a later media briefing about 10 a.m., Swanton added: "It's a very slow, methodical search."

Swanton repeated an earlier figure of five to 15 people killed but said that's based on "very limited" information from "folks at the scene," including local, state and federal officials. Three to four West volunteer firefighters who were at the plant when it exploded shortly before 8 p.m. Wednesday remain missing.

However, one emergency worker who had been reported as missing, a constable serving as a volunteer firefighter, was found hospitalized with "serious" injuries.

Vitims were taken to hospitals in Waco, Dallas and Temple. Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center's entire medical staff came in Wednesday night and treated more than 70 patients. Of those, 28 remained hospitalized Thursday morning, with five in intensive care. A Hillcrest official said victims suffered burns, broken bones and large lacerations.

The explosion unleashed a thunderous boom that was heard as far away as the Dallas area and ignited homes in West. The fires were out by 11 p.m. Wednesday, but the plant and surrounding homes were still smoldering Thursday morning. The cause of explosion is not yet known, Swanton said.

"There's a significant area around the plant that's been destroyed," he said. "Homes have been destroyed. Homes have been flattened. Part of that community is destroyed."

http://www.dallasnews.com/news/local-news/20130417-5-to-15-people-confirmed-killed-in-west-fertilizer-plant-explosion-but-officials-fear-dozens-may-have-died.ece

What it looked like when someone down the road tried to drive up and get a closer view. Looks like it turned to night time.

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.liveleak.com/ll_embed?f=8e2fe3794e22" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

And some other videos here:

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/texas-plant-explosion-video-130847649.html

[Little-Acorn]

Koresh's revenge

http://video.foxnews.com/v/2308706723001/

[jimnyc]

Not sure what to believe, just posting what I'm reading....

Cause of Texas fertilizer plant blast that killed up to 15 'suspicious:' source (http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/waco_plant_explosion_kills_criminal_HKroeaVUFAbVEl wYRoRKHM)Police in Texas say it's not clear how many people remain trapped in the rubble after a fertilizer plant explosion that killed as many as 15 people and injured more than 160 others.

Waco Police Sgt. William Patrick Swanton says early Thursday he doesn't know how many people have been rescued since the Wednesday night explosion in downtown West.

But he says officials on the ground remain in "search and rescue mode," going building to building in the largely decimated neighborhood surrounding the plant.

He says he knows some firefighters still are missing.

Swanton says a thunderstorm that rolled through the area early Thursday has helped in some ways, including tamping down chemicals released from the plant.

A senior Obama administration official said a series of briefings overnight have produced concern the Texas blast could have been at least criminal in nature. Authorities are trying to contain their speculation for fear of causing a panic, but the official told The Post the cause of the blast is "suspicious."

Authorities suspect the blast was set off by a truck or rail car holding a large quantity of ammonia that somehow caught fire or blew up. Ammonia, under certain conditions, can become combustible or explosive.

"It's 50-50," the source said. "Some sort of explosion caused the ammonia truck/rail car to create a shockwave up to a half-mile away, destroying that little town."

President Obama said in a statement today, "Today our prayers go out to the people of West, Texas in the aftermath of last night’s deadly explosion at a fertilizer plant. A tight-knit community has been shaken, and good, hard-working people have lost their lives. I want to thank the first responders who worked tirelessly through the night to contain the situation and treat the wounded.

"My Administration, through FEMA and other agencies, is in close contact with our state and local partners on the ground to make sure there are no unmet needs as search and rescue and response operations continue. West is a town that many Texans hold near and dear to their hearts, and as residents continue to respond to this tragedy, they will have the support of the American people."

“There was an apartment complex that was completely destroyed. It looked like a bomb blast in Iraq,” said Texas state trooper spokesman D.L. Wilson, who told The Post that the blast, in the town of West, injured “hundreds” of people and damaged 75 homes.

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/waco_plant_explosion_kills_criminal_HKroeaVUFAbVEl wYRoRKHM

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ROrpKx3aIjA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[Little-Acorn]

This sort of thing has happened before in Texas.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_City_Disaster

A ship with 2,300 tons (that's 4-1/2 **million** pounds) of ammonium nitrate fertilizer caught fire in the harbor in 1947, and exploded after a while as firefighters tried to extinguish the blaze.

It basically flattened the entire town.

One of the ship's anchors, weighing two tons, flew more than a mile and a half, and was found in a field.

500 dead, 5,000 injured.