Major Explosion at Texas Fertilizer Plant; UPDATE: 5 to 15 People Feared Dead
Because not enough other things happened today:
WACO (April 17, 2013)—Emergency crews from throughout Central Texas responded Wednesday night after a major explosion at a burning fertilizer plant in West north of Waco.
West firefighters were dispatched to the plant earlier in the evening after an earlier fire rekindled.
The explosion was reported at around 7:50 p.m. in a frantic radio call from the scene of the fire at West Fertilizer at 1471 Jerry Mashek Dr. just off Interstate 35.
Numerous injuries were reported and multiple ambulances were requested.
Several buildings were reported destroyed and a nearby nursing home was damaged.
There were reports that people were trapped in the nursing home and in an apartment building.
Scanner traffic indicated that some residents of both the nursing home and apartment building were severely injured.
Children are among the victims, according to reports from the scene.
A photo from just after the explosion:
BREAKING PHOTO: Plume of smoke after reported explosion at fertilizer plant explosion near Waco, TX (@passantino) twitter.com/NewsBreaker/st…
— NewsBreaker (@NewsBreaker) April 18, 2013
UPDATE: More here. Thanks to DRJ. This sounds bad.
UPDATE x2: I am riveted to Channel 5’s live coverage at the link above. Although there are no confirmed deaths as of right now, there is a good chance that many people, perhaps dozens, could be dead — and there are clearly huge numbers of injured. This is a major, major story.
UPDATE x3: Someone sent a local TV station this video of the explosion. Incredible.
UPDATE x4: I think the video in the last update is from this far more rough and intense clip, courtesy of happyfeet:
Wow.
UPDATE x5: Horrific.
BREAKING: Stunning photo of apartment near explosion in #West Texas – @roncorning twitter.com/NewsBreaker/st…
— NewsBreaker (@NewsBreaker) April 18, 2013
UPDATE x6: The anniversary of the famous Texas City explosion was yesterday. Check the New York Times front page from April 17, 1947.
UPDATE x7: Here is that front page for those philosophically opposed to clicking links:
Photo: New York Times front page, April 17, 1947 tmblr.co/ZqxiutiyNhO7
— BuzzFeed Politics (@BuzzFeedPol) April 18, 2013
UPDATE x8: An official just said: “We do have confirmed fatalities.” He compared the damage to the Oklahoma City bombing or Iraq.
UPDATE x9: Some pictures here.
UPDATE x10: They’re reporting that a pilot 4000 feet up in the air saw the explosion and then felt the concussive force of the explosion.
UPDATE x11: Seismically, this was a 2.1 on the Richter scale.
UPDATE x12 6:27 a.m. April 18: Such is the nature of this story that it’s actually a relief (?!) that reports today place the estimated death toll at “only” around 5 to 15 people.
Jeez.
Patterico (9c670f) — 4/17/2013 @ 7:26 pmThis Waco Tribune report says a school, nursing home, and several homes are on fire; firefighters have been injured; and apparently there are also injuries among the residents of a nearby nursing home, apartment complex, and homes.
DRJ (a83b8b) — 4/17/2013 @ 7:36 pmPerhaps the fertilizer plant was there first and the city grew around it, but a fertilizer plant is not a safe place to live by.
DRJ (a83b8b) — 4/17/2013 @ 7:38 pmThis is going to be big. Maybe not Texas City big, but big.
Ag80 (19f299) — 4/17/2013 @ 7:40 pmAre bad things more likely to happen in April?
DRJ (a83b8b) — 4/17/2013 @ 7:40 pmThe reason I say that is because the winds are howling out of the west. Rain will follow, but not until after midnight. I’m looking at triage on the HS football field. This is not going to be good.
Ag80 (19f299) — 4/17/2013 @ 7:43 pmOh, no:
This happened in the small town of West, Texas, which is 20 miles from Waco. West is the town that is being evacuated, but people 50 miles away felt the blast. The report says 10 buildings are on fire.
DRJ (a83b8b) — 4/17/2013 @ 7:44 pmhmmm there’s no google streetview for the plant that must mean something
http://www.google.com/maps?source=embed&q=1471+Jerry+Mashek+Drive,+West+TX+76691&ie=UTF8&%3Bhl=en&ll=31.819595,-97.08777&spn=0.014586,0.025749&z=15&vpsrc=6&oi=map_misc&ct=api_logo
happyfeet (8ce051) — 4/17/2013 @ 7:48 pmhappyfeet,
I think the plant may be further down the street from this house. It looks liek the school is across the street.
DRJ (a83b8b) — 4/17/2013 @ 7:56 pmCorrected link for my comment 7.
I wish I could figure out why I can’t make the link function work. These manual links are getting old.
DRJ (a83b8b) — 4/17/2013 @ 7:59 pmThere’s a live video feed at my last link. Right now it shows the triage on the football field. It looks like a mini version of what we saw in Boston.
DRJ (a83b8b) — 4/17/2013 @ 8:01 pmevery girls crazy
pdbuttons (2648f1) — 4/17/2013 @ 8:01 pmabout a burning Waco thang
elian gonzalez
what we got here..is..failure ..to communicate
some men..you just can’t reach
Now they are showing the plant fire and some of the homes that are on fire.
DRJ (a83b8b) — 4/17/2013 @ 8:02 pmApparently, firefighters were on the scene before the major explosion. They are likely volunteers. I’m looking at triage right now and there are at least 15 people being transported by wheelchairs off the HS football field. There are a whole lot of ambulances and helicopters there.
Ag80 (19f299) — 4/17/2013 @ 8:04 pmI already updated with your link, DRJ. I figured out what it was from the language in it. Watching the video now.
Don’t know anyone in Waco, I don’t think. Certainly not West. I think of West as the place where we would stop for kolaches on the trips between Austin and Fort Worth.
Patterico (9c670f) — 4/17/2013 @ 8:05 pmIt is a huge blast zone. Buildings are on fire that appear to be a mile or more from the plant itself, and some of the damage looks like the aftermath of a tornado.
DRJ (a83b8b) — 4/17/2013 @ 8:05 pmThey are moving triage off the football field now because it’s too close to the plant.
Ag80 (19f299) — 4/17/2013 @ 8:07 pmThe triage on the football field seems to have ended, and now there is a very long line of ambulances leaving from the parking lot. Most of the people were in wheelchairs, and I wonder if many of them were from the nursing home.
DRJ (a83b8b) — 4/17/2013 @ 8:07 pmThe fires remind me of last summer when we had massive wildfires throughout Texas. Those were bad enough but this also had an explosion.
DRJ (a83b8b) — 4/17/2013 @ 8:09 pmDid you hear that? They just said up to 130 injured.
DRJ (a83b8b) — 4/17/2013 @ 8:11 pmThe plant was leveled and apparently many nearby homes were, too. I don’t think they can even get to those homes.
DRJ (a83b8b) — 4/17/2013 @ 8:11 pmI’ve been watching WFAA, channel 8. However, NBC5, in Dallas is apparently doing a better job online. That’s what DRJ is watching.
Ag80 (19f299) — 4/17/2013 @ 8:12 pmBoom Boom
pdbuttons (2648f1) — 4/17/2013 @ 8:17 pmout go the lights
remember that song?
I think he /it was a one word DUDE
like PAT or BILLy
[or stephenoupalis]
Please, Cher ur thoughts
The football field is now empty. People felt the shockwave 60 miles away in Ennis.
Ag80 (19f299) — 4/17/2013 @ 8:18 pmwell ok so we have things blowing up in Boston but mostly just special events and we have the second amendment under assault and also we have a fertilizer plant going boom and a bum pipeline in arkansas just recently, which is an Infrastructure Failure, and the bottom has fallen out of the gold market among other various markets and also the United States just boycotted Thatcher’s funeral plus also North Korea is being ghetto and weird again and Marco Rubio is so not who he thinks he is
happyfeet (8ce051) — 4/17/2013 @ 8:18 pmIt looks as if they have moved triage to baseball fields farther away from the plant. The winds are horrible.
Ag80 (19f299) — 4/17/2013 @ 8:21 pmThe reporter on the video feed said the second story of the apartment complex had collapsed.
DRJ (a83b8b) — 4/17/2013 @ 8:23 pmI want my MTV
pdbuttons (2648f1) — 4/17/2013 @ 8:29 pmI’m only speculating from what I can see on google maps, but the triage has moved to the Church of Christ adjacent to some baseball fields.
Ag80 (19f299) — 4/17/2013 @ 8:30 pmWhat will the rain do to this kind of fire? Will it help put it out or could it trigger a chemical reaction if there is any remaining fertilizer/ammonium nitrate?
DRJ (a83b8b) — 4/17/2013 @ 8:31 pmDid she just say they lost 20 firefighters?
DRJ (a83b8b) — 4/17/2013 @ 8:31 pmWFAA is saying 60 to 80 dead.
Ag80 (19f299) — 4/17/2013 @ 8:32 pmHowever, it is early. The same caveats always apply.
Ag80 (19f299) — 4/17/2013 @ 8:33 pmHoly crap.
Patterico (9c670f) — 4/17/2013 @ 8:33 pmNBC just said they have not heard of anyone being killed.
What else is new? Big story; wildly divergent reports.
Patterico (9c670f) — 4/17/2013 @ 8:36 pmThere’s no highway as gridlocked as IH 35 — on a good day — and this has to be traffic on steroids. I hope the DPS can help get the ambulances to the hospitals.
A viewer sent in a video of the explosion. Amazing.
DRJ (a83b8b) — 4/17/2013 @ 8:40 pmThis is a sucky day
JD (b63a52) — 4/17/2013 @ 8:40 pmLord, did you guys just see that video they showed?
Patterico (9c670f) — 4/17/2013 @ 8:40 pmHuge explosion.
DRJ (a83b8b) — 4/17/2013 @ 8:42 pmKWTX in Waco is reporting the deaths and WFAA is repeating. Again, it is early. However, the plant is close to the town center.
Ag80 (19f299) — 4/17/2013 @ 8:42 pmThey just said 200 injured, 40 critically, with 175 homes destroyed or damaged.
You were right, Ag80. This is like Texas City.
DRJ (a83b8b) — 4/17/2013 @ 8:45 pmNBC is clearly refusing to report deaths until it’s official (and good for them), but there are obviously going to be deaths here.
DRJ (a83b8b) — 4/17/2013 @ 8:46 pmCorrection: 75 homes and businesses destroyed or damaged. Not 175.
DRJ (a83b8b) — 4/17/2013 @ 8:48 pmI’ve heard conflicting reports that this was a Wilbur Ellis plant.. can anyone in the area verify this? Just curious. My husband is a assistant manager at a WE plant here in Southern Colorado. Regardless of the name of the plant… my prayers go out to the entire town! My husband has worked in this industry for over 26 years… luckily without incident. But, I do understand the extent of an explosion of this kind. Not only tonight… but the following aftermath and clean up!
JeninCO (6611b4) — 4/17/2013 @ 8:49 pmYes, I saw the film of the explosion.
MD in Philly (3d3f72) — 4/17/2013 @ 8:51 pmI can only imagine that the initial fire brought people trying to put it out,
though I would think with a fire in the midst of known explosives one would like to just evacuate ASAP.
I have to imagine many deaths, unless they were already evacuating and giving up on containing it.
WFAA is talking to a city council member Cheryl Marak.
The explosion apparently killed her pets. She is saying a nursing home was severely damaged as well as her home.
Ag80 (19f299) — 4/17/2013 @ 8:53 pmFox 4 reporter just noted that Texas City anniversary was yesterday. Yes, done with mid April.
They also reported earlier 5 confirmed dead – 4 firefighters, 1 police officer.
The air shots of all the ambulances is horrific.
Em (0af170) — 4/17/2013 @ 8:53 pmhere is some freaky video
http://myfox8.com/2013/04/17/explosion-rips-through-fertilizer-plant-in-west-texas/
happyfeet (8ce051) — 4/17/2013 @ 8:59 pmAccording to their Web site Wilbur Ellis does not have a plant in West, Texas.
Ag80 (19f299) — 4/17/2013 @ 8:59 pmI found this address for a Wilbur Ellis in West, TX.. 10493 Leroy Pkwy, West, TX 76691
JeninCO (6611b4) — 4/17/2013 @ 9:05 pmThe fertilizer plant is on fire, get away from there. Go as far as you cab as briskly as youmcan. It’s not a tourist attraction. It’s like watching people on a beach gawp at a tsunami. And he had his kid in the truck along with his fool self.
SarahW (b0e533) — 4/17/2013 @ 9:06 pmMakes me want to rant like a Mensa certified janitor.
The West Mayor is being interviewed. The good news is he said the fire seems to be under control. The bad news is there may be some hazmat issues with the air. This website talks about the hazards of ammonium nitrate, including inhalation issues.
DRJ (a83b8b) — 4/17/2013 @ 9:07 pmUPDATED with a pair of video clips, which are (I believe) the same clip — it’s just that the second one is rougher and rawer and far more intense.
Patterico (9c670f) — 4/17/2013 @ 9:10 pmJeninCO found a better source.
I am only reporting what I am seeing. Please don’t take anything I post as gospel. It is a bad situation regardless.
Ag80 (19f299) — 4/17/2013 @ 9:14 pmUPDATED with a crazy picture of an apartment building that was utterly destroyed.
Patterico (9c670f) — 4/17/2013 @ 9:18 pmAbsolutely agree Ag80!!!! As I said, my husband has worked in this industry for over 26 years.. I have always had a situation like this in the back of my mind. I live in a very small tight-nit farming community myself. I CANNOT FATHOM how devasting this will be for this town!
JeninCO (6611b4) — 4/17/2013 @ 9:28 pmThe Mayor of West: “A lot of people won’t be here tomorrow.”
You have to think that includes the firefighters (and any police) who were at the plant when it exploded.
DRJ (a83b8b) — 4/17/2013 @ 9:30 pmPlus, any workers and plant personnel that were at the plant, and some probably were.
DRJ (a83b8b) — 4/17/2013 @ 9:32 pmI was impressed with the mayor’s poise during the press conference. How horrible it is to contemplate what the sunrise may reveal after this dark night.
elissa (a4a051) — 4/17/2013 @ 9:38 pmBefore I sign off, the town suffered significant damage. Based on news reports, there were injuries and deaths. The Church of Christ I mentioned earlier is apparently a community center.
First reports are always unreliable, but I fear that this likely to be bad as dawn rises.
Ag80 (19f299) — 4/17/2013 @ 9:41 pmThe kid in the video I linked says she can’t hear anything after the explosion.
Look how far away they were.
Wow.
Patterico (9c670f) — 4/17/2013 @ 9:42 pmGood night, Ag80. Thanks for sharing your thoughts about this story.
DRJ (a83b8b) — 4/17/2013 @ 9:43 pmAnother report said people heard a loud explosion in Waxahachie, which is 45 miles away. That’s hard for me to even imagine.
DRJ (a83b8b) — 4/17/2013 @ 9:44 pmSince we have come to rely so much on foreign media lately I’ll post this Daily Mail piece with lots of maps and pics and detailed info on fertilizer plants before I turn in.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2310825/West-fertilizer-plant-explosion-leaves-70-people-dead.html
elissa (a4a051) — 4/17/2013 @ 9:49 pmI’m wondering if the dad could hear the kid pleading either.
elissa (a4a051) — 4/17/2013 @ 9:51 pmGood link, elissa. I didn’t realize this plant also had anhydrous ammonia. That’s very flammable and dangerous.
DRJ (a83b8b) — 4/17/2013 @ 9:55 pmConfirmed fatalities. See update.
Patterico (9c670f) — 4/17/2013 @ 10:05 pmIn the DPS news conference, it sounds like the evacuations occurred because of the danger of the toxic fumes more than fire.
Fortunately they have enough help but there are fatalities, and he wouldn’t give a number. My impression is it’s going to be a big number. He didn’t seem surprised when they asked him if it would be 50 or more.
DRJ (a83b8b) — 4/17/2013 @ 10:09 pmThis SH@T is where the RUBBER meets the ROAD. A bad thing has happened. People have died. It’s awful. So WHO do YOU want in charge??
Gus (694db4) — 4/17/2013 @ 10:10 pmBoots on the NECK, by some filthy Marxist pig. Or someone who loves this country like most of US do??
He also said they aren’t even trying to fight the fire because of the danger of the toxic anhydrous ammonia fumes.
DRJ (a83b8b) — 4/17/2013 @ 10:10 pmDRJ. Who do you want in charge?
Gus (694db4) — 4/17/2013 @ 10:12 pmThe admin that we have, is PATHETIC and in no way ABLE.
Gus,
The Texas DPS and the Mayor of West, Texas, are in charge of this incident, and the Governor of Texas has announced assets have been mobilized to assist as needed. I’m happy with their response, and I’m praying for the people of West, Texas — especially for the volunteer firefighters who responded to this fire and their families.
DRJ (a83b8b) — 4/17/2013 @ 10:16 pmGus,
Did you think I was being critical of them for not fighting the fire? If so, that wasn’t what I meant. It makes perfect sense to me that they would stay away because toxic fumes.
DRJ (a83b8b) — 4/17/2013 @ 10:20 pmWell, what a lovely day it has been. I am going to bed.
Maybe tomorrow will be better.
Patterico (9c670f) — 4/17/2013 @ 10:34 pmHorrifying, prayers for everyone down in the great state of Texas.
mg (31009b) — 4/17/2013 @ 10:41 pm23-Pat Traverse
It’s an ammonium nitrate plant. Ammonium nitrate is a high explosive – its the key ingredient in the blasting agent ANFO. In a sad irony, the Texas City explosion were due to a vessel carrying ammonium nitrate, the Grandcamp, IIRC.
Watch for an investigation by the Chemical Safety Board, which investigates industrial accidents just like the NTSB invesigates plane crashes. http://www.csb.gov
OmegaPaladin (f4a293) — 4/17/2013 @ 10:49 pmThe petulant president will never go to Texas and show his sorrow.
mg (31009b) — 4/17/2013 @ 10:52 pmHe is a disgrace to human life.
Newscasters seem to be focused on anhydrous ammonia which is certainly toxic but dissipates rather quickly and is not flammable. This was apparently an ammonium nitrate explosion and reports are that there is another tank of it in the plant.
crosspatch (6adcc9) — 4/17/2013 @ 10:53 pmempty chairs and empty tables
Amphipolis (d3e04f) — 4/18/2013 @ 6:25 amDoes anyone have any good news?
JD (b63a52) — 4/18/2013 @ 6:34 amThis is sadly an example of the energies involved in our industrial processes. For some reason, we often forget.
It is also why I ridicule people who think guns and bombs can be magically wished. Fertilizer and explosives are the same chemicals. You can’t wish chemistry away.
SPQR (6b2dff) — 4/18/2013 @ 7:07 amVery disturbing.
80.Does anyone have any good news?
Comment by JD (b63a52) — 4/18/2013 @ 6:34 am
Both the sumps burned out during the night and the basement is flooded but the good news is that a) the contractor showed up within fifteen minutes, b) I don’t have to take 94 today, and c) the sinkholes are even farther south. How are things in your neck of the great Midwest, JD?
nk (d4662f) — 4/18/2013 @ 8:30 amnk- after going literally non-stop yesterday and evening to keep up with the rain our sump motor gave up some time over night, too. And watching very closely the nearby river. But what has happened elsewhere this week is really helping keep things in perspective. Good luck to all.
elissa (5d6872) — 4/18/2013 @ 8:40 amThe weather you speak of is on its way this way. Hope you guys are able to manage. Gonna check my pumps and back-ups.
JD (f6c1a6) — 4/18/2013 @ 8:51 am“The petulant president will never go to Texas and show his sorrow.
He is a disgrace to human life.”
– mg
Obama probably won’t come to Texas, to his shame – and people like you wouldn’t honor it if he did, to yours.
Leviticus (1aca67) — 4/18/2013 @ 8:54 amActually, nevermind. I wouldn’t honor it either. The difference between us is that I am an equal-opportunity politician hater.
Leviticus (1aca67) — 4/18/2013 @ 8:56 amThe world does not revolve around Obama.
Ag80 (19f299) — 4/18/2013 @ 8:16 pmMaybe not, Ag80, but our world does revolve around what the politicians in Washington decide to do.
DRJ (a83b8b) — 4/18/2013 @ 8:26 pmLatest update 35 killed in explosion.
peedoffamerican (ee1de0) — 4/18/2013 @ 9:02 pmare they finding more bodies or are people dying in hospital Mr. peed?
happyfeet (8ce051) — 4/18/2013 @ 9:06 pmMore bodies mostly from what I heard on radio.
peedoffamerican (ee1de0) — 4/18/2013 @ 9:10 pmthen for reals I don’t get why Joe Scarborough is babbling about gun control when all these people are dead
what a silly silly cheesedick
happyfeet (8ce051) — 4/18/2013 @ 9:13 pmThey seem to have a fairly high number of missing persons, and these are turning into fatalities as the bodies are discovered.
peedoffamerican (ee1de0) — 4/18/2013 @ 9:13 pmi didn’t read anything on it all day
i’ll put on the cnn when I go to bed
happyfeet (8ce051) — 4/18/2013 @ 9:14 pmwest texas i would go through on my way to college and usually I would go a different way but if I went through houston first I would stop in brenham where the make the tasty ice creams
west isn’t too far down the road from there
north of waco is where west is though, and I tend to think of that whole area before you get to Dallas as the Land Of The Superconducting Supercollider What Meghan’s Coward Daddy Killed
also, Salado
Stagecoach Inn eff yeah
happyfeet (8ce051) — 4/18/2013 @ 9:18 pmwhere *they* make the tasty ice creams I mean
happyfeet (8ce051) — 4/18/2013 @ 9:19 pmI don’t know what it’s like now but the Stagecoach Inn used to have super food.
DRJ (a83b8b) — 4/18/2013 @ 9:22 pmwhen I went it had super fun 70s ambiance and mostly we had retro drinks like “grasshoppers” in lieu of food
I definitely want to go back and I thought about going back on my trip but it’s not a place where you’re gonna have the same kinda fun by yourself – it’s definitely a place you share
happyfeet (8ce051) — 4/18/2013 @ 9:26 pmThe number of dead still seems to be fluctuating, depending on whether they are listing the known deceased or including people who are missing. This source says there are 10 known dead and about 80% of the structures have been cleared. It also quotes the Texas State Fire Marshal as saying “It is by far one of, if not the worst, (disasters) we have seen in the state of Texas.”
DRJ (a83b8b) — 4/18/2013 @ 9:27 pmIt does, DRJ. I heard on the radio that a Dallas Fire & Rescue Captain died down their. Apparently he was off duty and lives in or around West. He went in to help the volunteers.
That takes courage. Every single one of them what was in that plant.
Steve57 (b238b6) — 4/18/2013 @ 10:29 pm*Every single one of them knew what was in that plant.*
Steve57 (b238b6) — 4/18/2013 @ 10:31 pmThe Austin American-Statesman has a neat interactive photo of West, Texas. Just move your mouse over the photo to see the before and after views.
DRJ (a83b8b) — 4/19/2013 @ 7:57 pmGreat links, DRJ. Do you ever consider going back into blogging? Serious question.
Dustin (2da3a2) — 4/19/2013 @ 8:02 pmI’d like to but I can’t. But I appreciate the thought, Dustin.
DRJ (a83b8b) — 4/19/2013 @ 8:07 pm