Blaze: The blast ripped through West Fertilizer at 7.50pm and fires continue to burn at the scene
Search: The missing volunteer firefighters and a policeman were attending a blaze at the plant at about 7:50pm local time last night it suddenly exploded into a fireball - it thought to be caused by anhydrous ammonia igniting in the heat of the fire
Terrifying: A fire blazes in a home near to the plant - some people are thought still to be trapped in buildings and a number of firefighters are reported missing
Devastation: Firefighters conduct search and rescue of an apartment destroyed by an explosion at a fertilizer plant in West, Texas, which could have killed 15
Emergency treatment: Victims from the West fertilizer plant explosion are wheeled into Hillcrest Baptist Medical Hospital in Waco, Texas
Tragic: As many as 75 businesses and homes in West are believed to have been destroyed by the massive blast around 8pm on Wednesday
Hunt: Search and rescue teams are now going door to door to check for people who could have been injured in the massive explosion
*Huge explosion ripped through a fertilizer plant near the town of West, Texas at 7.50pm on Wednesday
*Three or four firefighters who had responded to a fire at the plant before the explosion are missing
179 people have been hospitalized and 24 are in critical condition, including children
*Mayor: 'We've got a lot of people who are hurt, and there's a lot of people who aren't gonna be here
tomorrow'
*Records show the plant insisted there was no risk of fire - and it was cited in 2006 for failing to have a
*Records show the plant insisted there was no risk of fire - and it was cited in 2006 for failing to have a
permit
*The owner, Donald Adair, said no employees were there at the time and he does not know what caused
*The owner, Donald Adair, said no employees were there at the time and he does not know what caused
the fire
*U.S. Geological Survey: Blast produced ground motion equivalent to that of a magnitude 2.1 earthquake
Heartbreaking daylight images have revealed the extent of the devastation inflicted on the small community of West, Texas when a fertilizer plant exploded on Wednesday night, killing as many as 15 people - including three or four volunteer firefighters - and injuring hundreds more.
The blast, which was felt 50 miles away and registered as a magnitude 2.1 earthquake, destroyed as many as 75 homes and buildings, leveled an apartment complex, forced a nursing home to evacuate its residents and blanketed the area in a cloud of toxic fumes.
The missing volunteer firefighters were attending a blaze at the plant at 7.50pm local time when it suddenly exploded into a fireball - thought to be caused by dangerous anhydrous ammonia igniting in the heat of the fire. Some witnesses likened the explosion and damage to that of an atomic bomb.
As many as 179 people have been treated for injuries in hospitals, but Sergeant W. Patrick Swanton from Waco's police department warned that he expects the total number of deaths and injuries to rise as emergency teams conduct a proper search.
Today, as the dust settles on the small community of 2,800 people, photographs reveal decimated homes, debris-strewn roads and a massive charred crater where the West Fertilizer Co. once stood. Search and rescue teams are now searching the buildings for victims.
Swanton said a minimum of 400 emergency responders arrived at the scene on Wednesday night. Officials said they were treating it as a crime scene.
'We are not indicating that it is a crime, but we don't know,' Swanton said. 'What that means to us is that until we know that it is an industrial accident, we will work it as a crime scene. The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is conducting the main investigation.'
He said there is not believed to be any hazard from smoke or air particles, and firefighters believe they have the blaze in the plant under control.
*U.S. Geological Survey: Blast produced ground motion equivalent to that of a magnitude 2.1 earthquake
Wasteland: The remains of a fertilizer plant sits destroyed after the explosion on Thursday morning. Authorities do not yet know what caused the blaze
Hunt: Search and rescue teams are now trying to locate any victims in the homes hit by the explosion in West
Aftermath: The remains of the the West Fertilizer Co. plant smolder in the rain on Thursday after a massive explosion on Wednesday night - which could have killed as many as 15
Smouldering: An aerial photo shows a view of homes on the North side of the fertilizer plant explosion site on Thursday morning
The force of the blast shattered windows of buildings in the surrounding area - some of the injuries were caused by flying shards of glass
Vigil: Baylor University student's hold a candle light vigil outside Waco Hall for the victim's of the West fertilizer plant explosion
Update: Waco Police spokesperson William Swanton speaks at a media conference on Thursday morning but could only provide limited information
Devastation: Firefighters conduct search and rescue of an apartment destroyed by an explosion at a fertilizer plant in West, Texas, which could have killed 15
Tragic: As many as 75 businesses and homes in West are believed to have been destroyed by the massive blast around 8pm on Wednesday
Hunt: Search and rescue teams are now going door to door to check for people who could have been injured in the massive explosion
Wasteland: The remains of a fertilizer plant sits destroyed after the explosion on Thursday morning. Authorities do not yet know what caused the blaze
Hunt: Search and rescue teams are now trying to locate any victims in the homes hit by the explosion in West
Heartbreaking daylight images have revealed the extent of the devastation inflicted on the small community of West, Texas when a fertilizer plant exploded on Wednesday night, killing as many as 15 people - including three or four volunteer firefighters - and injuring hundreds more.
The blast, which was felt 50 miles away and registered as a magnitude 2.1 earthquake, destroyed as many as 75 homes and buildings, leveled an apartment complex, forced a nursing home to evacuate its residents and blanketed the area in a cloud of toxic fumes.
The missing volunteer firefighters were attending a blaze at the plant at 7.50pm local time when it suddenly exploded into a fireball - thought to be caused by dangerous anhydrous ammonia igniting in the heat of the fire. Some witnesses likened the explosion and damage to that of an atomic bomb.
As many as 179 people have been treated for injuries in hospitals, but Sergeant W. Patrick Swanton from Waco's police department warned that he expects the total number of deaths and injuries to rise as emergency teams conduct a proper search.
Today, as the dust settles on the small community of 2,800 people, photographs reveal decimated homes, debris-strewn roads and a massive charred crater where the West Fertilizer Co. once stood. Search and rescue teams are now searching the buildings for victims.
Swanton said a minimum of 400 emergency responders arrived at the scene on Wednesday night. Officials said they were treating it as a crime scene.
'We are not indicating that it is a crime, but we don't know,' Swanton said. 'What that means to us is that until we know that it is an industrial accident, we will work it as a crime scene. The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is conducting the main investigation.'
He said there is not believed to be any hazard from smoke or air particles, and firefighters believe they have the blaze in the plant under control.
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