Emergency services are searching for survivors
after a blast at a fertiliser plant in the US state of
Texas killed between five and 15 people.
More than 160 people were injured and dozens of
buildings destroyed in the town of West, near Waco.
Three or four volunteer firefighters are among the
missing after the explosion, which produced a tremor
equivalent to a small earthquake.
Emergency services officials said ammonia may have
caused the explosion.
There is no indication that the blast and a fire which
preceded it were anything other than industrial
accidents, police say.
However, the site is being treated as a crime scene
and the death toll could rise, officials warn.
Texas state Governor Rick Perry said he was declaring
the area a disaster and would request an emergency
declaration for federal aid from US President Barack
Obama.
He said President Obama had offered any help
needed.
Air quality and gas pipelines were being monitored for
safety, he said. and gas supplies had been
disconnected until any risk had passed.
Homes destroyed
The operation is still in "search-and-rescue mode"
and has not yet moved to "recovery mode", Waco
police Sgt William Patrick Swanton told a news
briefing on Thursday morning, some 12 hours after
the explosion at 01:00 GMT (20:00 local time).
Between five and 15 people were killed, he said.
The explosion devastated the West Fertilizer
Company, about 20 miles north of Waco, in central
Texas.
The plant contained tanks of volatile anhydrous
ammonia, including what initial reports said was a
tanker-sized container like those hauled on freight
trains, Sgt Swanton said.
In 2006, the plant was cited by the Texas Commission
on Environmental Quality for failing to obtain or to
qualify for a permit.
However, state officials said the factory had been
issued with a permit at that time and there had been
no complaints since. Read more.........
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