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By Derrick Ginter, KTXT-FM News
WEST, TEXAS – An explosion at a fertilizer plant in West has leveled buildings, injured hundreds of people and possibly killed a dozen or more. The explosion occurred just before 8pm Central Time Wednesday as first responders were working to extinguish a blaze at the West Fertilizer Company.
West is a small community with a population of 2,600 in North-Central Texas, located about 20 miles north of Waco. The fertilizer plant was on the north side of town, with initial reports that homes and other buildings nearest the plant had been leveled. Other structures suffered severe damage and a nearby nursing home and West Middle School were reported to be on fire.
Hundreds of people sustained injuries from the explosion, and officials on the scene have reported that possibly dozens have been killed. Among those missing and feared dead are numerous first responders, volunteer firefighters and EMS personnel, who were fighting the fire at the plant before the explosion occurred.
The powerful explosion registered as a magnitude 2.1 seismic event according to the U.S. Geologic survey, with residents more than 50 miles away saying it felt like a small earthquake. A mushroom cloud from the explosion was also visible for miles around.
Units of the State Guard and the Federal military located at nearby Fort Hood were assisting, with reports that Texas Task Force One, the state’s premier rescue unit, was also responding to the event.
A video of the fire and subsequent explosion shot by local residents on a smartphone has gone viral on the Internet. It shows a father along with his daughter in a pickup truck watching the fire from less than a mile away when the explosion occurred.
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