Post date: Apr 18, 2013 1:8:44 PM
The mayor of West, Texas, says "search and rescue teams have been working through the night" following the fertilizer plant explosion.
WEST, TEXAS, UNITED STATES (APRIL 16, 2013) (NBC) - The mayor of West, Texas, Tommy Muska made a statement on Thursday (April 18) regarding the procedures undertaken since an explosion tore through a fertilizer plant late on Wednesday (April 17).
"At approximately 7:30 the West fertilizer plant was on fire, fully consumed, the West fire department, volunteer fire department, responded. At approximately 7:55 the plant exploded. Approximately 50-60 houses in a five block area, radius, were damaged, heavily damaged.""West Rest Haven, located a couple of blocks from the fertilizer plant was in the process of being evacuated during the fire when the explosion occurred. The rest home, nursing home, has evacuated and taken all their patients out to safe locations. All residents in that area have been evacuated and are in safe locations," he added.
The mayor also said that he did not have exact numbers of causalities at the time of the statement.
"We took over 160 to the Waco hospitals, area hospitals, for treatment. Search and rescue teams have been working through the night, combing the West Rest Haven as well as the fire...as the fertilizer plant, and also a thorough check of the neighbourhood. That is continuing as we speak," Tommy Muska said.
The mayor said that a helpline has been set up at the West community centre.
Police initially estimated that between five and 15 people had perished in the blast, which rocked the town of West, located about 20 miles (32 km) north of Waco and 80 miles (130 km) south of Dallas, shortly before 8 p.m. local time on Wednesday.
Public safety officials said they expected the death toll to climb as search teams combed through the rubble of the demolished plant and surrounding homes.
Ground motion from the blast, triggered by a fire of unknown origin at the West Fertilizer Co plant, registered as a magnitude 2.1 seismic tremor and created a jolt felt in Dallas and beyond, the U.S. Geological Survey reported.
Waco Police Sergeant W. Patrick Swanton said investigators would examine whether the blaze was the result of foul play or a chemical reaction, adding that the blast site was being treated as a crime scene for the time being.
Officials said flames that continued to smolder inside the plant initially posed two threats: the possibility of setting off further explosions and the emission of hazardous fumes into the town.