Up to 15 dead in Texas fertiliser plant blast

Up to 15 people have been killed in an explosion at a fertiliser plant in Texas, police said today.

Between five and 15 people died and more than 160 were injured in the blast at West Fertilizer in the town of West, about 20 miles north of Waco, officials said.

Pic: AndyBartee / PA

The explosion left the factory a smouldering ruin and levelled buildings for blocks in every direction, and was heard as far as 45 miles away.

It sent flames shooting high into the night sky, and rained burning embers, shrapnel and debris down on shocked and frightened residents.

A member of the city council, Al Vanek, said a four-block area around the explosion was “totally decimated”.

Other witnesses compared the scene to that of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.

Authorities said the plant made materials similar to that used to fuel the bomb that tore apart that city’s Murrah Federal Building.

Among those believed to have been killed are a group of volunteer firefighters and a police officer who responded to the fire call about an hour before the blast.

They remain unaccounted for.

The town’s volunteer firefighters responded to a call at the plant at 7.29pm, Sgt Swanton said, adding that, due to the plant’s chemical stockpile, “they realised the seriousness of what they had”.

The main fire after the blast was under control by 11pm, but residents were urged to remain indoors because of the threat of new explosions or leaks of ammonia from the plant’s ruins.

In the hours after the blast, many of the town’s residents wandered the dark streets searching for shelter.

Among them was Julie Zahirniako, who said she and her son Anthony had been playing at a school playground near the plant when the explosion hit.

The explosion threw her son 4ft in the air, breaking his ribs. She said she saw people running from the nursing home and the roof of the school lifted into the air.

“The fire was so high,” she said. “It was just as loud as it could be. The ground and everything was shaking.”

Among those believed to have been killed are a group of volunteer firefighters and a police officer who responded to the fire call about an hour before the blast. They remain unaccounted for.

The town’s volunteer firefighters responded to a call at the plant at 7.29pm local time, Sgt Swanton said, adding that, due to the plant’s chemical stockpile, “they realised the seriousness of what they had”.

The main fire after the blast was under control by 11pm, but residents were urged to remain indoors because of the threat of new explosions or leaks of ammonia from the plant’s ruins.