Fertilizer plant explosion in Texas

[CodeRedR51]

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/20/u...fter-texas-explosion.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

After spending the night sifting through the debris left by the devastating explosion at a fertilizer plant here, the authorities on Friday morning raised the number of dead to 12, most of them firefighters and other emergency responders who were the first to arrive at the scene.

 

[Tornado]

(CNN) -- An explosion ripped through a fertilizer plant Wednesday night in the area of West, Texas, sending a massive fireball into the sky and causing dozens of injuries, officials said.

A number of nearby residents were being evacuated because of the possibility of another explosion, officials said.

A hospital in nearby Waco, Texas, has been told to anticipate 100 injured people coming in from the fertilizer plant area, an official at the medical facility said.

Glenn Robinson, CEO of Hillcrest Hospital, said a field triage station was being set up on a football field near the plant some 18 miles north of Waco after the Wednesday night explosion.

"We have had a steady flow of patients coming in by ambulance as well as by private vehicles," Robinson told CNN's Anderson Cooper.

More than 60 patients were received as of 10 p.m. (11 p.m. ET), Robinson said, suffering from "blast injuries, orthopedic injuries (and) a lot of lacerations. While some of the injuries are minor, others are "quite serious," he said.

Hazardous material teams were being rushed to the scene, an emergency management official said.

At least six helicopters are going to fly out those who are injured, Robinson said. Others are being transported by ambulance, and some are getting to the hospital by car, he added.

Two other hospitals in the region were also assisting.

As many scrambled to assist the injured, another danger seemed to emerge Wednesday night.

"What we are hearing is that there is one fertilizer tank that is still intact at the plant, and there are evacuations in place to make sure everyone gets away from the area safely in case of another explosion," said Ben Stratmann, a spokesman for Texas State Sen. Brian Birdwell.

Photos of the explosion -- which reportedly happened around 7:50 p.m. (8:50 p.m. ET) -- showed a huge blaze and flames leaping over the roof of a structure and a plume of smoke rising high into the air.

The West Fertilizer Plant is just north of Waco. A school and a nursing home are among the buildings near the plant, CNN affiliate KWTX reported.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry said he is aware of the explosion, a spokesman said, and was working to get resources into the area.

Tommy Alford, who works in a convenience store about three miles from the plant, told CNN that several volunteer firefighters were at the store when they spotted smoke. Alford said the firefighters headed toward the scene and then between five and 10 minutes later, he heard a massive explosion.

Linky.

Some of the news sites are reporting at least 70 deaths according to a report from a doctor on the scene. It was right near a school and a senior home, too.

 

[gtsmashbros]

 

[CodeRedR51]

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57580172/texas-fertilizer-plant-blast-injures-many/

There are no official numbers, but Dr. George Smith, the head of West, Texas EMS confirms that there at least 60 dead and over 100 injured, CBS News has learned.

 

[terminator363]

Wow

 

[mcfizzle]

The video with the father and child is unbelievable. Very difficult to listen to the fear in the childs voice. News report said they are believed to be okay.

 

[Johnnypenso]

Crazy...that was one hell of an explosion.

 

[AOS-]

^ Second that. The moment of ignition covered so much ground in an instant! That's an explosion to be scared of.

 

[Johnnypenso]

CNN is reporting only 2 dead...

http://www.cnn.com/

 

[Ken]

That video was pretty darn intense.

 

[CodeRedR51]

CNN is reporting only 2 dead...

http://www.cnn.com/

Yeah see I posted that first, but when Toronado posted about bigger numbers and I found the CBS article I figured it was much worse. I think it's too soon to know for sure though. We'll probably get a better news release by morning.

 

[a6m5]

:censored:ing fertilizers. I've always been fascinated by the OKC Bomber, Timothy McVeigh's bomb. His homemade bomb took out a huge Federal building, which was eyeopening, at least to me. Every time I express this view, people reply with "fertilizer". Scary stuff.

My thoughts are with the victims of this terrible accident, and I hope the casualty numbers don't get crazy. Like everyone else, I feel bad for the kid who may have suffered from blown eardrum.

 

[Encyclopedia]

Crikey!

My condolences to the people affected.

 

[McLaren]

CNN is reporting only 2 dead...

http://www.cnn.com/

CNN's a bit behind.

5 firefighters & 1 police officer amongst the first to be reported deceased. The firefighters are believed to be the volunteers who went in just 30 minutes before the explosion. Investigators say we won't know the full damage until sunrise.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/busin...4b26a0-a7e5-11e2-9e1c-bb0fb0c2edd9_story.html

 

[CodeRedR51]

If I came across that sight and didn't know better, I would have thought a nuclear bomb went off.

 

[Spacegoat]

Holy crap.

My thoughts go out to all of those affected.

 

[CodeRedR51]

 

[Grayfox]

Is America under attack?

Ricin letters to Obama
Boston Bombing
Plants exploding

 

[Northstar]

Is America under attack?

Ricin letters to Obama
Boston Bombing
Plants exploding

I doubt this is any more than an industrial accident.

 

[arora]

The answer is no clearly, no mater how much Greyfox likes to sensationalize.

 

[a6m5]

Is America under attack?

Ricin letters to Obama
Boston Bombing
Plants exploding

I'm not gonna lie, it did cross my mind. Then again, we were talking about Timothy McVeigh just today at work(in regards to domestic terrorism, Boston situation).

 

[20832]

That explosion in the father/child video caught me of guard.
I spilled half my drink.

That was simply terrifying!

 

[DK]

As of 10:16am GMT, the BBC's latest estimate is between 5-15 dead.

 

[20832]

The german Version of Yahoo already speaks about 60 Dead.

http://de.nachrichten.yahoo.com/explosion-in-texas--60-tote-051752433.html

 

[Zenith]

Sounds like conflicting data, wait and see.

 

[Crispy]

A lot of people are getting ready to put their tin hats saying Obama fired a hellfire missile at the plant. I don't think they realize how explosive ammonia gas can be...

 

[xXKingJoshXx]

If I came across that sight and didn't know better, I would have thought a nuclear bomb went off.

My thoughts exactly.




Also, this is just scary. I know it was an accident, but it was just sudden, although I guess explosions to tend to be quite sudden. My grandma works in a starch factory/laboratory and explosion could happen any second. The place was wiped out once before, but that was a long time ago. The worrying part about where she works at, though, is the lack of safety. Anyone could go in and blow the whole place up with no more than a match if they wanted to. Security there sucks, it does other places, as well.

 

[Zenith]

The fearful jumping to conclusions I've been seeing with this and the Boston incident are the kinds of things that lead to radical action. Not good.

 

[BobK]

A lot of people are getting ready to put their tin hats saying Obama fired a hellfire missile at the plant. I don't think they realize how explosive ammonia gas can be...

Indeed. The world's fastest airplane was powered by ammonia.

 

[Pupik]

That's some crazy devastation. Unbelievable.

I'm not gonna lie, it did cross my mind. Then again, we were talking about Timothy McVeigh just today at work(in regards to domestic terrorism, Boston situation).

Very close to the anniversary of that event, and nearly 20 years to the day of the nearby Waco Siege/Self-Immolation of the Branch Dravidian Compound, to be fair.

Hopefully, it was just an awful industrial accident (not that I'd "hope" it would happen).