Texas explosion: 15 feared dead and 200 hurt after killer blast at fertiliser factory
Rescue workers are locked in a desperate search through the smouldering rubble for survivors after the horror blastThick flames ripping through the twisted metal and charred remains, the Texas fertiliser plant at the heart of a killer explosion looks more like a battle scene.Rescue workers are tonight locked in a desperate search through the smouldering rubble for survivors after the horror blast that has left 15 people, including volunteer firefighters and a police officer, feared dead and another 200 hurt. But officials expect the teams to find more bodies and the death toll to rise as they pick through the devastation in West from the explosion that flattened whole streets and blocks of flats. The small town’s mayor Tommy Muska said: “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. "We’re gonna search for everybody. We’re gonna make sure everybody’s accounted for. That’s the most important thing right now.”The blast, so strong it registered as a 2.1 magnitude earthquake, demolished 50 to 75 houses, a block with 50 flats and a nursing home where 133 residents were evacuated from. It sent a fireball shooting into the air with an eruption that could be heard 45 miles away, raining burning embers and shards of metal and wood down on the streets of the farming community. Mr Muska, one of the volunteer firefighters who rushed to help tackle the blaze, added: “It was like a nuclear bomb went off.” Police have made the area of devastation a crime scene but are not able to start their investigation until the site cools down. Fire broke out at the factory about 30 minutes before the explosion. It is believed two 12,000 gallon storage tanks containing anhydrous ammonia – a common yet highly volatile farming fertiliser – blew up. Jenene Picha, who owns a Czech-American restaurant in the town, said the home of her in-laws vanished. She added: “It was like a war zone.” Resident Kevin Smith told of the moment the factory went up, as he climbed the stairs of his home. He said: “The house exploded. "It was just a bright flash and a roar, I thought it was lightning striking. "I flew through the air about 10 feet, and it took a second or two to realise the roof had caved in on me so I knew it wasn’t lightning.”Michael Maher, 49, lost his house. He said: “You felt the pressure first, and then boom, my ears are still ringing. West is never going to be the same.”In one harrowing video, a petrified young girl could be heard pleading for help from her dad moments after the explosion. error filling her voice, she screams: “I can’t hear. I can’t hear. Please get out of here. Please get out of here. Please get out of here. Dad, please get out of here.” Rescuers battled driving rain in their hunt for survivors or bodies. Search teams went from house to house trying to account for everyone from the 2,800-population town, not far from Waco.Waco police Sergeant William Patrick Swanton said: “They are still getting injured folks out and evacuating people from their homes. "At some point this will turn into a recovery operation, but at this point, we are still in search and rescue.”
Rescue workers are locked in a desperate search through the smouldering rubble for survivors after the horror blastThick flames ripping through the twisted metal and charred remains, the Texas fertiliser plant at the heart of a killer explosion looks more like a battle scene.Rescue workers are tonight locked in a desperate search through the smouldering rubble for survivors after the horror blast that has left 15 people, including volunteer firefighters and a police officer, feared dead and another 200 hurt. But officials expect the teams to find more bodies and the death toll to rise as they pick through the devastation in West from the explosion that flattened whole streets and blocks of flats. The small town’s mayor Tommy Muska said: “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. "We’re gonna search for everybody. We’re gonna make sure everybody’s accounted for. That’s the most important thing right now.”The blast, so strong it registered as a 2.1 magnitude earthquake, demolished 50 to 75 houses, a block with 50 flats and a nursing home where 133 residents were evacuated from. It sent a fireball shooting into the air with an eruption that could be heard 45 miles away, raining burning embers and shards of metal and wood down on the streets of the farming community. Mr Muska, one of the volunteer firefighters who rushed to help tackle the blaze, added: “It was like a nuclear bomb went off.” Police have made the area of devastation a crime scene but are not able to start their investigation until the site cools down. Fire broke out at the factory about 30 minutes before the explosion. It is believed two 12,000 gallon storage tanks containing anhydrous ammonia – a common yet highly volatile farming fertiliser – blew up. Jenene Picha, who owns a Czech-American restaurant in the town, said the home of her in-laws vanished. She added: “It was like a war zone.” Resident Kevin Smith told of the moment the factory went up, as he climbed the stairs of his home. He said: “The house exploded. "It was just a bright flash and a roar, I thought it was lightning striking. "I flew through the air about 10 feet, and it took a second or two to realise the roof had caved in on me so I knew it wasn’t lightning.”Michael Maher, 49, lost his house. He said: “You felt the pressure first, and then boom, my ears are still ringing. West is never going to be the same.”In one harrowing video, a petrified young girl could be heard pleading for help from her dad moments after the explosion. error filling her voice, she screams: “I can’t hear. I can’t hear. Please get out of here. Please get out of here. Please get out of here. Dad, please get out of here.” Rescuers battled driving rain in their hunt for survivors or bodies. Search teams went from house to house trying to account for everyone from the 2,800-population town, not far from Waco.Waco police Sergeant William Patrick Swanton said: “They are still getting injured folks out and evacuating people from their homes. "At some point this will turn into a recovery operation, but at this point, we are still in search and rescue.”