West, TX
 

Breaking news: Fertilizer plant exploded in West which is justy north of Waco. Evacuating the entire town at the moment. Sketchy news but apparently a lot of casualties and confusion and a lot of damage in the town....

latest report is 60-70 injured.... and clilmbing.

No no no...60-70 DEAD. Hundreds injured.

Basically leveled a few square miles. Ammonium nitrate plant.

Very scary stuff indeed. I have a feeling it will be a whole before they have a final number for casualties. That thing took a large damage swath...

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Not far from Waco.
Do think you think there is a connection with the Boston attack?
Or am I reaching?

Doubtful.

5-15 killed, 160+ injured

It is sad that one even holds this thought for a second . . . a legacy of the politics of fear.

What next, terrible situation so close to residential area.

Anhydrous ammonia, bad stuff.

Sad news. It's about to start raining there, I think that would be a good thing to help control the fire, but it would make a mess of the recovery.

That was a big explosion, I hope things are better than they appear. Prayers to those impacted, apparently some first responders are casualties as well.

Explosions Rock Texas Chemical Plant, Killing 3 - NYTimes.com

I was working there the day this happened luckily for most people on a Saturday or it would have been far worse. Blast experts later estimated the equivalent force of 25,000lbs of TNT. Our plant was miracouslly rebuilt but several insurance companies went broke in the process. Three or four other people later died of their injuries and the survivors that were there are still haunted all these years later.

Now there are reports of thugs looting. Good grief!!

I have to apologize, i was watching the news that was on site and they quoted those numbers, I see this morning that the fatality and mortality rates are far lower (although still catastrophic).

It's possible that the reporter said 60-70 casualties, but I think they're careful to not use confusing terms like that.

Would have been an epic video if the f***ing camera was held the right way. That said, I hope that girl didn't lose here hearing.

you didn't hear wrong about the 60-70 killed. I heard that # as typing the original post but had heard 60-70 injured right before that. Unfortunately the news sources broadcast anything they hear trying to be first, facts be damned.

Waco? What A Cook Out! :)

Although this explosion was really bad, fortunately it is not in the same ballpark as the Texas City explosion in 1947 - killed 581 and leveled the town.

Texas City Disaster - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"The Grandcamp was a recently re-activated 437-foot-long (133 m) Liberty ship. Originally named the SS Benjamin R. Curtis in Los Angeles in 1942, the ship served in the Pacific theatre and was mothballed in Philadelphia after World War II. In a Cold War gesture, the ship was assigned to the French Line to assist in the rebuilding of Europe. Along with ammonium nitrate—a very common cargo on the high seas—it was carrying small arms ammunition, machinery, and bales of sisal twine on the deck. Another ship in the harbor, the SS High Flyer, was docked about 600 feet (200 m) away from the SS Grandcamp. The High Flyer contained an additional 961 tons of ammonium nitrate[1] and 1,800 tons of sulfur. The ammonium nitrate in the two ships and in the adjacent warehouse was fertilizer on its way to farmers in Europe. The Grandcamp had arrived from Houston, Texas, where the port authority did not permit loading of ammonium nitrate."

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I heard the guy shooting the video was thrown across the car onto his daughter, that's why the camera goes all crazy. That was a heckuva blast.

I drive thru West many times on my trips south of DFW. Nice little town famous for the Czek bakery fronting I35. Popular stop for gas and snacks.

I would think many of the dead would be the volunteer fire dept that was trying to extinguish the fire. Very sad .

The guy with the camera was 3 blocks from the blast. There were residential homes 2 blocks from the blast (apparently zoning is loose).

If you look at the big blast in 1947 in Texas, they found 500+ bodies and estimated 100 more were basically disintegrated (presumed killed).

Texas City Disaster - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia