The explosion killed 60 to 70 people, the threat of toxic contamination remains. On Thursday, a powerful explosion occurred at a fertilizer plant in West, Texas, as a result of which, according to US media, from 60 to 70 people were killed and more than 100 people were injured.
The explosion was so powerful that in the town of West with a population of 2,800 people, the blast wave destroyed more than 70 houses, the explosion was felt within a radius of 15 miles, and the geological survey recorded tremors of magnitude 2.1.
Shortly before the explosion, a fire broke out at the plant. After the explosion, the fire spread to some city buildings, including a school and a nursing home. At the same time, one of the tanks with dry ammonia caught fire on the territory of the plant. Next to it is a second ammonia tank, due to the threat of an explosion of which and the possible leakage of a hazardous substance, the state authorities decided to evacuate residents from an area within a radius of one mile from the state of emergency. As noted, inhalation of concentrated toxic smoke can be fatal.
A spokesman for Texas emergency services also said that firefighters have not yet been able to put out the flames, including due to toxic smoke, high winds and the risk of another explosion.