Texas explosion liveblog: up to 15 dead after fertiliser plant blast (2024)

KWTX News 10saidthat West residents are being advised to boil their water before consuming it. At an afternoon briefing, authorities said the TexasCommissionon Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are monitoring the area.

The Guardian’s Tom Dart has been reporting from “West-comma-Texas” today – a city home to fewer than 3,000 people.Dart'slatest story is here.

Criss-crossed by three rail tracks, West exudes the kind of decrepit frontier charm typical in small Texas towns that have a little history. Half the businesses in West seem to nod towards to the place's past as a haven for Czech settlers. Westfest, a Czech festival, is held each Labor Day weekend; the town claims to be the "Czech heritage capital of Texas" and even, referring to a kind of pastry, "home of the official Kolache of the Texas legislature". The town's affectionate nickname came about to avoid geographical confusion – when spoken, no-one ever heard the comma in West, Texas.

Standing outside his family's restaurant, Nors Sausage and Burger House, shivering in the strange spring chill, Matt Nors reflected on his sister Whitney's escape. She lives with her young child only a couple of blocks from the plant. Or, lived: Nors fears that his sister's house has been wrecked. "My sister was really close to it. I haven't seen the house but supposedly it's demolished," he said.

West Fertilizer Co. has not been inspected by the US federal agency that is responsible for ensuring worker safety since 1985. More from The Guardian's Matt Williams:

The last time the Occupational Safety & Health Administration – the body that is tasked with making sure American workplaces are safe for employees – inspected the West Chemical & Fertilizer Co was in 1985.

On that occasion it identified one serious, and two other violations and imposed a fine. Since then it has not visited the factory once.

One industrial chemicals expert told the Guardian that he was not surprised by the lack of visits, adding that in the industry it was well known that the OSHA was “overworked and undermanned”.

A glance of the figures confirmed that to be true - the watchdog is tasked with overseeing the safety of 7 million worksites in the US. In all, it has 2,000 inspectors nationwide and under current funding levels can only conduct 40,000 inspections every year.

As such, a typical workplace can be expected to get a visit every 175 years. And the agency's budget is set to cut as a result of the sequester, making it likely that even less workplaces will be inspected.

As a result of automatic spending cuts, the OSHA will have its budget cut by 8.2%.

Guardian US social news editor Katie Rogersreports on a West school that has been evacuated because of activity at the West Fertilizer plant in the past.

Nearby West Intermediate School wasseverely damagedby the explosion. It had been evacuated because of activity at the nearby plant as recently as February.

In anoticeposted by Superintendent Marty Crawford to the school's website February 12, the school was evacuated because of anunannouncedburn at the plant.

"The evacuation was executed in calm, but serious fashion," Crawford wrote. "WIS principal Rob Fleming alerted 911 of the fire, whose dispatcher did not acknowledge a coordinated burn."

Calls to Crawford's home were not immediately returned Thursday. West Independent Schools are closed Thursday and Friday, according to the district'sTwitteraccount.

Local Texas reporters have been sharing images of destruction from the explosion on Twitter.

Jason Reyes, regional spokesperson for the Texas department of public safety,said the search and rescue mission is still underway.

Reyes confirmed that there were fatalities, but would not provide a number.

"Our focus is on trying to help the families affected by this, to get them as close to normalcy as we can."

McLennanCounty ChiefDeputyMatt Cawthon spoke next.

"What I can tell you about where the incidentoccurredis that it is highly populated, it is a neighborhood, it isdevastated and it is still a volatile situation," Cawthon said.

He said it is still volatile because of the chemicals used at the fertilizer plant, specifically ammonium nitrate. He said he had not been told aboutanhydrous ammonia.

The Texas commissioner on environmental quality and the EPA are monitoring the area.

Texas attorney general Greg Abbott is speaking at a briefing. Abbott said:"The first thing we want to convey is our support for the families."

He said people will be "physically scarred for years, but these are tough Texans."

"The second thing is the incredible praise that must be given to the first responders across this entire community. In Texas our first responders don't run from harm, they run to help.

"These first responders literally lost their lives helping other."

He concluded by sayingthat the price gouging statute of Texas has been activated.

A doctor at Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center in Waco, Texas, who was not named on the television broadcast, said most patients it received had suffered blast injuries, lung contusions and significant wound problems. He said he had not seen any chemical injuries.

He also did not put a number on how many people are being treated.

“Really, all day today, last night was kind of controlled chaos,” he said.

When asked how long patients would need to remain in the hospital, he said it varies widely. “Some will be here a day, some will be here weeks.”

Earlier today,Texas governor Rick Perry declared McLennan County a disaster area and said he plans to request federal aid.

Anyone who grew up in a small town understands that this tragedy will touch every family in West and the surrounding communities in some way. I urge all Texans and Americans to join me in keeping the people of West and our first responders in your prayers as this situation continues to unfold.

The next briefing is scheduled to begin at any minute.

State and federal agencies have sent my colleague Matt Williams details of inspection records from the West Fertilizer plant where the explosion occurred.

Records show that an odor complaint was made to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) against the West Fertilizer plant in 2006 – the year it was also fined by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

While investigating the complaint, the TCEQ found that the plant had not got in place a valid permit authorizing its emission of air contaminants.

Prior to 2004, the factory had not been required to have a permit, due to being constructed before state and federal requirements kicked in.

Follow up inspections by the TCEQ took place, but no further complaints have been logged by the commission. Meanwhile the EPA has issued more information as to the complaint that led its fine being levied against the factory.

The deficiencies found by inspectors in 2006 included a failure to update its risk management plan, a failure to document how identified hazards had been addressed and poor employee training records.But since then no problems have been reported.

The factory complied with a requirement to update its risk management plan in 2011, EPA records show.

Guardian community coordinator Ruth Spencer reached out to commenter Bob Johnson (aka bigbobcolorado)whois an industrial chemist. Johnson has 35 years experience in fine chemicals manufacture and has worked as a plant manager at a facility that handled anhydrous ammonia. The West Fertilization fire that preceded the explosion is thought to have started in an anhydrous ammonia tank.

He shared some of his knowledge with Ruth in an email.

It seems clear that there was an initial fire before the explosion occurred. So the CSB investigation will probably identify how the fire was able to get near the bulk storage tanks holding anhydrous ammonia. Bulk storage tanks are normally protected by bunds/dykes or drainage systems that deflect or prevent burning materials accumulating underneath the tank.

The damage sustained indicates that a high energy explosion took place. In such events, a very high pressure wave is generated by the explosion that travels extremely rapidly through the surrounding environment resulting in catastrophic consequences over a large area. Such events usually involve large quantities of flammable vapor clouds which are constrained i.e. enclosed or confined. A BLEVE scenario as mentioned earlier would cause similar catastrophic consequences.

Another possible scenario is that flammable dust was ignited, but I have heard no mention of dust in any reporting so far.

Whatever the cause I fear the casualty numbers will increase. The only good news is that the event took place at night when the facility was closed, people were in bed and the adjacent school was closed.

Republican congressman Bill Flores has issued in a statement on the explosion in West.Flores represents the 17th district of Texas that includes West.

The terrorists attack in Boston and the explosion in West remind us that life is sometimes cut short; accordingly I ask all Americans to pray for these communities. I am praying and hoping for the best in the wake of the disastrous explosion in West. It is heartbreaking to hear of the fatalities and numerous injuries. I am grateful for all of the police, fire, emergency responders and volunteers from our community and around the state who have come to aid those in need. Our offices will continue to monitor the aftermath and be on hand to assist our friends and neighbors throughout the recovery process. My thoughts and prayers go out to the community of West as they endure through this difficult period.

The Guardian’s Richard Luscombe is in West, Texas. There, he spoke with the sheriff of McLennan county who compared the damage to a "war zone."

Parnell McNamara, the sheriff of McLennan county, told The Guardian that an unknown number of people were still missing, and that search and rescue teams continued to comb the shattered town.

Close to tears, the veteran officer said: “It looks like a war zone in there, large pieces of metal everywhere, houses completely gone. It’s just really sad. Families have lost loved ones, I knew some people who were in there, this is hard on everyone."

“But there has been an overwhelming response from the community, from hundreds and hundreds of police officers, from firefighters and many other agencies who came to help us. I’m overwhelmed by the support. This is a small, close knit community and we will get through this.”

Dan Halyburton, spokesman for the American Red Cross, said the charity planned to distribute food and blankets to families forced into shelters when their homes were destroyed.

“It’s cold, they’re hungry, and we’re setting up food kitchens,” he said.

“But lots of people are able to stay with family and friends. This is West, Texas, people take care of their own,” he added.

Lowell Brown, a reporter at the news site WacoTrib.com, has been posting updates from the McLennan County sheriff’s department.

A sheriff deputy said the investigation is being led by the state fire marshal and the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosive. The federal agency said it could take six months to know what caused the explosion.

According to the AP, the Czech ambassador to the United States is traveling to West.

A significant portion of the city has Czech heritage and it is home to an honorary consulate.Ambassador Petr Gandalovic is set to arrive in the city on Thursday.

Gandalovic has been ambassador since 2011 and has visited West before. A spokesman for the Czech embassy in Washington said the ambassador: "would like to support the community in their time of sadness."

Dallas reporterDavid Schechter has posted more videos of the extensive damage in and around West, Texas.

More from The Guardian's Tom Dart, who has been speaking with people in West, Texas throughout the day.

Standing outside The Village Shoppe, broom in hand, Joyce Beaubien said that she is concerned for a friend and former neighbour who works at the plant. "I haven't been able to get in touch with her," she said.

"People here are really shocked. The firefighters are all volunteers, they all live here, their families are here, it's just so devastating to people who've lived here all their lives."

"It's really devastating for a little town like this where nothing ever happens – except sometimes a person might get a little drunk."

The retired medical secretary, who now works part-time in the store, said that new housing as the town expanded in the past two decades meant the plant was no longer isolated as it used to be.

"The fertilizer plant was out in the country and they just built around it when I guess they shouldn't have," she said.

Norma Talbott arrived at the store with her mother-in-law, Vi, who was in her house only a short walk from the plant when the disaster struck.

Norma said she had driven from Plano, near Dallas, to look after the 83-year-old, who suffered a cut and bruising.

"She has no doors, no windows, no ceiling. We have not been allowed back in and I don't know when we will be," Norma said."Her neighbour got her out... She has the clothes on her back and her wallet."

University of Alabama at Birmingham’s spam-monitoring lab said that spammers are taking advantage of the Texas explosion to infect computers with malware.

Spammers are sending emails with subject lines including: “Fertilizer Plant Explosion Near Waco, Texas” and “CAUGHT ON CAMERA: Fertilizer Plant Explosion Near Waco, Texas.” If someone clicks the link inside the email, malware can infect their computer.

Gary Warner, a cyber researcher at the lab, said in a blog post that the spammers used a similar tactic earlier this week with emails purporting to be about the Boston Marathon explosions.

More from The Guardian's Tom Dart, who is reporting from West, Texas.

Broken glass lines the sidewalk on Oak St, West's main drag, less than two miles from the blast.

Maria Galvan runs a thrift store two doors down from Czech Point Collectibles and Antiques. Her shop's windows were blown out and are now boarded up.

She arrived for work this morning to discover glass littering the floor and all of the ceiling's panels on the ground, she said.

"It was all busted in, glass everywhere," she said. "Very very bad... I'd fixed up my window for Mother's Day, it's all messed up."

Galvan said that she was shopping at a Walmart in a nearby town at the time of the explosion and saw goods tumble off the shelves.

"We thought it was lightning that hit. People were running every which way," she said.

Sarah Gardner, whose grandparents own an apartment complex near the plant, said that she "thinks everyone got out."

She said that of 22 units housing families or individuals, up to 20 might have been occupied at the time of the explosion. Between half and 75% of residents were accounted for so far, she added.

The building, however, she fears is "a total loss", little more now than a frame.

Volunteer firefighter Mike Snyder wrote for Comment is Free about the tradition of volunteer firefighting in the US.

Being a volunteer emergency service provider can be very fulfilling. I joined a volunteer fire company as soon as I was old enough, in 1993. I have responded to hundreds of calls for service since then. Most of them have been minor, a few have been major, but all shared the characteristic of somebody needing help and knowing that whatever the request or circ*mstances, the local fire department would be there to help. I still volunteer because I think that my contributions are still making a positive impact in my community, and I hope that sense continues as I get older.

Texas governor Rick Perry just gave a briefing on the explosions.

"Last night’s disaster was truly a nightmare scenario but we are blessed in Texas to have the best emergency response teams in the nation,” Perry said.

“It is unfortunate for us that we face both natural and manmade disasters all too often in this state.”

Perry said he is "not comfortable" saying how many people died in the explosions until families are notified.

“I don’t know how that community is going to be impacted by the amount of individuals who may or may not lose their job because of that company’s explosion.”

The Guardian's Tom Dart is has arrived on the scene and sends this rerport. He says theblocks surrounding the plant remain closed off, with police blocking traffic from passing.Main roads are busy with traffic, media trucks and American Red Cross incident support units mingling with a steady stream of pickup trucks.

Shivering from the cold as he stood outside the family's restaurant, Nors Sausage and Burger House, Matt Nors reflected on his sister's lucky escape.

"My sister was really close to it," he said, adding that she lives within 500 yards of the blast."I haven't seen the house but supposedly it's demolished," he said.

Nors lives five miles from West. "The first thing that went into my mind was a nuclear bomb," he said. "I was standing in my garage flipping meat on the grill. The shock wave felt like somebody hit me in the gut."

Inside the restaurant, his father, Bernie, said that he knew four firefighters who had been killed. "They were fighting the fire when it blew up," he said.

He lives four miles away, next to a field. "When it blew up you could see the shock wave hit the wheat field, boom," he said.

Matt Nors said that West is "really close-knit. Real family-oriented. Something like this happens, there's no shortage of help."

He said that the potential danger of living so close to the plant was never a consideration in a rural community that depends on agriculture for jobs."It's never been a concern. This was never even a thought, an issue," he said.

The Texas governor's office tweeted a photo of the state's governor, Rick Perry, attending a briefing with emergency management and state officials.

The Environmental Protection Agency confirmed to the Guardian that the West Fertilizer Company was cited in 2006 for having a deficient risk management plan in 2006.

"We conducted an inspection of the risk management plan in March 2006. The facility was fined $2,300 and they certified that they had corrected the deficiency (later that year)," an EPAofficialsaid.

My colleague Katie Rogers found an explanatory pieceby Texas-based bloggerGary Johnson – who happens to be a retired aerospace engineer – about the chemicals stored at the plant

He noticed some conflicting reports in the local media about which chemicals were handled at the plant and explained the differences, in depth:

None of the local news reporters seem to know the difference between ammonia and ammonium nitrate. If this had been AN, the whole town of West would be a crater. AN is a mass-detonable explosive, ammonia is a flammable, corrosive, poisonous gas.

It was bad enough as it is.

Dallas television reporter David Schechter has posted videos surveying some of the damage from the explosion.

ht@mccanner &@antderosa

Phil Calvin, fire chief of nearby Navarro Mills Volunteer Fire Department, has told the Guardian his son Perry Calvin, was one of the first volunteers to respond to the call for assistance Wednesday evening and has been missing since just after the explosion. Perry had been taking an EMT class at the nursing home across the street from the plant when the group received the call.

"We don't know anything yet," Calvin told theGuardian. "We just know that he's missing."

According to a pool report, a senior White House official said that Barack Obama called Texas governor Rick Perry from Air Force One, en route to Boston for a prayer service there.

Obama told Perrythat his prayers are with the people ofWest, Texas. He alsooffered "any federal resources that may be needed to assist in theongoing response and recovery effort."

Obama also calledthe mayor of West, Texas but at the official said they had not yet connected.

Swanton said the region is experiencing is experiencing significant rain which will affect rescue operations.

He said that at least 160 people were injured but he expects the number to be revised upwards. increased.

He also pointed to the resilience of the community.

“Food, clothing, shelter is not an issue for these folks because they are being well taken care of by their community,” Swanton said.

Though this incident is being called a crime scene investigation, Swanton said there is no indication that a crime was committed at this point.

The Waco police department sergeant William Swanton is giving another press briefing.

Swanton said authorities still don’t have a firm number on how many fire fighters are missing and that he has heard that between three to five are dead. Those numbers are “still sketchy", he says. The total number of deaths remains estimated at between five and 15.

The whereabouts of the refinery’s owners is still unclear, though Swanton believes they spoke with authorities in the morning.

WacoTrib.com reporter Lowell Brown has been tweeting photos of the damage from the explosions.

A Guardian-curated Twitter list of reporters and local organizations posting updates can be found here.

WacoTrib.com has assembled a list of links for people affected by the explosion. These include Google docs documents for people who want to offer aid or housing to West residents, much like those created following the Boston explosions.

A Guardian reader and Texas resident has visited West and wrote in the comments about the community.

President Barack Obama released a statement about the Texas explosions Thursday morning:

Today our prayers go out to the people of West, Texas in the aftermath of last night’s deadly explosion at a fertilizer plant. A tight-knit community has been shaken, and good, hard-working people have lost their lives.

I want to thank the first responders who worked tirelessly through the night to contain the situation and treat the wounded. My Administration, through FEMA and other agencies, is in close contact with our state and local partners on the ground to make sure there are no unmet needs as search and rescue and response operations continue.

West is a town that many Texans hold near and dear to their hearts, and as residents continue to respond to this tragedy, they will have the support of the American people.

Thenews briefing continues. “There is no rush to hurry up and move from a search and rescue to a recovery,” Swanton says.

Swanton emphasized the strength of the West community.“This is a tight knit, very family-oriented community. You are talking about leaning on each others shoulders, they are doing that. The people of West will not allow a person to stand out in the rain.”

The city has received “a massive outpouring” of help from everyone from local first responders to the governor’s office.

Places damaged in the explosion include ”50 to 75 homes, businesses, an apartment complex and many cars."

Swanton said he did not know where the manager of the fertilizer plant is or where he lives.

He said there was a diminished worry about further explosions. “Certainly there is still a concern, we do not think it is a significant issue, a significant concern. We know what is there. We know the potential for things to become explosive again. From my understanding, at this point we are okay.”

Sergeant William Swanton,of the Waco, police department, has just been briefing the media.

He said that three to five firefighters are still missing, and repeats the estimate of five to 15 deaths. “There is a huge organization of mixed groups that are working together to find survivors, to find people who are injured," he said.

Swanton, whose teams have been supporting the West authorities, said he did not know if anyone was still trepped. “I don’t know how many folks may still be trapped. They have not been able to give me much more on the damage than to say that there is a significant area around the fertilizer plant that has been destroyed."

As for the fire at the plant, it has been brought under control and there are no chemical leask. “Last thing I heard about the fire at the fertilizer plant, it was slow burning,” he said.

Swanton said he did not know when people would be allowed back in the area.

He added that looters are a significant concern.“There are unidentified people in the area, there has been a small amount of looting, to my understanding, I can’t tell you the number of looters or if they have been caught.”

Swanton said the town of West is "secure".

It's now past 7am in Texas. Here's a summary of where we stand.

Between five and 15 people have died and another 160 taken to hospital after a huge explosion tore through a fertiliser plant in the small town of West, near Waco in Texas. The explosion, at about 19:50pm local time (1.50am BST) was described as sounding like "an atom bomb", and devastated a residential area nearby, including more than 50 houses, an apartment block and nursing home. The blast blew out doors and windows several miles away and was heard almost 50 miles away.

Among those feared missing are between three and five volunteer firefighters and one medical worker.

Police say the number of deaths and injuries is likely to rise as the day goes on.

While Waco's police chief has said there are "no indications that this is anything but an accidental fire", it is being treated as a crime scene until this is confirmed. It is believed a fire at the plant ignited stocks of anhydrous ammonia, a fertiliser stored at high pressure as a gas.

Video footage showed a fire raging at the plant before a sudden and hugely powerful fireball and blast wave, which sent a mushroom cloud of debris high into the air.

* Fire crews had been battling a fire at the plant for almost an hour when the explosion happened. Police say another blaze under more anhydrous ammonia tanks was now under control.

This CNN video shows a bloodied and understandably emotional Dr George Smith, head of West's medical emergency service. He explains that he was among people trying to evacuate residents from the nursing home when the blast, which he likened to "an atom bomb", happened:

There was a major, major explosion. The windows came in on me, the roof came in on me.

While the town has only three ambulances there was a training evening taking place with 18 people on duty, Smith said. He did not know the fate of these but was fearful as many were outdoors when the blast struck.

Some quotes from Muska, who read from the brief statement. He said that 50 to 60 houses in a five-block radius were "heavily damaged". Residents at the West Rest Haven nursing home were being evacuated at the time. Anyone found in the area of the blast had been evacuated and taken to safety, he said:

I do not have an exact number of casualties at this time. Of the hurt, we took over 160 to the Waco hospitals for treatment. Search and rescue teams have been working through the night, combing the West Rest Haven as well as the fertiliser plant, and also a thorough check of the neighborhood. It's continuing as we speak.

He concluded:

Thanks you and I ask for your prayers.

The mayor of West, Tommy Muska, has spoken briefly to reporters, saying he still does not know how many people died and confirming the figure of around 160 injured people taken to hospitals. Some quotes from that soon.

Already there are stories of heroism emerging from the explosion and its aftermath. CNN has spoken to the wife of Marty Marak, a volunteer firefighter who reported for duty after the blast destroyed his home and those of neighbours, and killed his dog.

Marak's surname is typical of the many West residents of Czech origin – large numbers of Czech emigrants moved there in the late 19th century.

Assuming the West blast does turn out to be an industrial incident rather than a crime, it will be one of many explosions over the years involving ammonia-based chemicals, usually ammonium nitrate.

In September 2001 29 people died in the French city of Toulouse when several hundred tonnes of ammonium nitrate ignited at a fertiliser plant.

The worst accidental human-created explosion ever – and the biggest human-made blast of any type before the advent of nuclear arms – came in December 1917 when a French cargo ship carrying military explosives caught fire. The resultant explosion levelled large parts of Halifax in Canada. Up to 2,000 people, including many locals watching the fire from the shore, were killed.

A reporter with the local WacoTrib has the specific police quote about there being no indication yet this was a deliberate blast or fire. The police are still, however, treating the plant as a crime scene just in case.

The TV feeds have switched away from the briefing, but beforehand Swanton also said that while the search and rescue operation was in full swing the next step would be an investigation into how it started. On the subject of the school located near the plant (see map), he said:

There was a school in the neighborhood. Thank God that the school was out."

Swanton says he expects the total number of deaths and injuries to rise when daylight arrives and emergency teams are able to conduct a proper search. He adds:

We would like to say we hope not, and we will hope for the best and prepare for whatever we come across.

This briefing, still going on, is from Sergeant W. Patrick Swanton from Waco’s police dept, who has spoken before. He's also said:

There are three to five firefighters missing. The estimate for total injures remains at 160.

Some homes near the centre of the blat have been "levelled".

There is no indication yet of criminal involvement in the blast.

Waco police are giving another update at a press conference: they estimate the death toll could be between five and 15.

This casualty update comes from a reporter with the Dallas-Fort Worth News.

More photos are coming in of the extent of the devastation. This shows the effect of the blast in a commercial street in West.

The WacoTrib news site has some details on hospitals dealing with casualties. It says Hillcrest hospital in Waco, about 20 miles south of West, had by midnight treated more than 100 people, with around 14 likely to be admitted. None of the injured, who mainly suffered cuts, broken bones and similar injuries associated with flying debris, had died.

Two children had been transferred to a facility another 30 miles south in Temple, said the hospital's chief executive, Glenn Robinson.

This CNN video has some dramatic footage of flattened cars and damaged buildings near the blast site, and interviews with witnesses.

In a grim coincidence the West blast happened on almost the exact anniversary of the worst industrial accident in American history, which also took place in Texas.

The Texas City Disaster on 16 April 1947 killed almost 600 people, when a fire ignited a huge quantity of ammonium nitrate on a ship moored in the Galveston Bay port, beginning a chain of explosions and fires.

My colleague Paddy Allen has sent this map showing the site of the blast. Note the proximity of West Middle School – the death toll could have been significantly higher if the explosion happened during school hours.

The country singer Willie Nelson was born and brought up in the small town of Abbott, just over five miles north of West. He sent this tweet earlier.

Here's what we currently know, just over seven hours since the explosion:

A number of people have died after a huge explosion tore through a fertiliser plant in the small town of West, near Waco in Texas. The explosion, at about 19:50pm local time (1.50am BST), devastated a residential area nearby, including an apartment block and nursing home. The blast blew out doors and windows several miles away and was heard almost 50 miles away.

Video footage showed a fire raging at the plant before a sudden and hugely powerful fireball and blast wave, which sent a mushroom cloud of debris high into the air.

*Police have confirmed there are fatalities and many injuries but have refused to estimate a figure. Reports that up to 70 had died were “a guess”, officers said, as emergency crews were still searching homes. Several volunteer firefighters are missing, as is one police officer. Hospitals said they had treated dozens of injured, many seriously.

* Fire crews had been battling a fire at the plant for almost an hour when the explosion happened. Police have refused to speculate whether the blast was caused by anhydrous ammonia igniting in the heat of the fire, or if there could be a criminal connection. Police say another blaze under more anhydrous ammonia tanks was now under control.

Emergency crews, medical teams and volunteers have flocked to West, about 80 miles south of Dallas, which has a population of around 2,700, to help deal with the injured and those left homeless. Much of the town has been evacuated.

This is a photo of the police press conference mentioned earlier.

A Dallas Morning News reporter has been speaking to local people about the huge force of the blast.

A local journalist at the scene reports this from a press conference by Dr George Smith from West emergency services.

Our science correspondent, Alok Jha, has penned this very brief explainer on why fertiliser is so explosive. We'll have something more comprehensive later:

In essence, fertiliser is so explosive because it contains compounds of nitrogen. Nitrogen gas molecules arevery very hard to split apart and, when you make a fertiliser, you have to put in a tremendous amount of energy to react the nitrogen gas molecules with other elements (such as hydrogen, carbon etc) to turn them into the nitrogen compounds present in fertilisers.

This means that, if you can do the chemical reactions necessary to turn the nitrogen compounds back into nitrogen gas molecules, all that stored energy is released immediately and you get a huge bang.

Driving through the area himself, Swanton said, he likened the destruction to that caused by a tornado, with some homes significantly more damaged than others.

He said emergency services had spent about 50 minutes trying to evacuate people from homes, an apartment block and a nursing home as a fire raged in the plant when “there was a massive explosion”.

Some fires were still raging, he said, with rescue work made more difficultby fractured gas mains and other utilities.

Swanton said he had just talked to his commander on the ground:

He's telling me that he is seeing extreme devastation in some of the homes, in businesses, they are still getting people out.

The number of fatalities is likely to increase as morning comes, he said, refusing to confirm the reported figure of around 60 to 70 deaths. “We still don’t know,” he explained.

Another fire near more tanks of anhydrous ammonia in the plant had now been tackled, he said: "We have that fire under control and I don't think that’s any longer a threat.”

Sergeant Patrick Swanton from Waco’s police dept, who is holding a press conference now, says the scene near the fertiliser plant is one of “extreme devastation”.

He told reporters that emergency crews were still searching homes, an operation made harder by the fact many were made unsafe by the blast, and still removing injured people.

Thus, he said, while he could confirm there had been deaths, and that those missing included firefighters and a police officer, it would be a ”guess” to come up with a number. He also said it was not possible to say whether the blast was caused by a non-deliberate fire or was a criminal act.

The Dallas Morning News is reporting that the company running the affected fertiliser plant told safety authorities there was no prospect of an explosion at the complex. It says:

The fertilizer plant that exploded Wednesday night in West, Texas, reported to the Environmental Protection Agency and local public safety officials that it presented no risk of fire or explosion, documents show.

West Fertilizer Co. reported having as much as 54,000 pounds of anhydrous ammonia on hand in an emergency planning report required of facilities that use toxic or hazardous chemicals.

But the report, reviewed Wednesday night by The Dallas Morning News, stated “no” under fire or explosive risks. The worst possible scenario, the report said, would be a 10-minute release of ammonia gas that would kill or injure no one.

The second worst possibility projected was a leak from a broken hose used to transfer the product, again causing no injuries.

The plan says the facility did not have any other dangerous chemicals on hand. It says that the plan was on file with the local fire department and that the company had implemented proper safety rules.

The Associated Press has this very vivid description of the blast's strength:

Erick Perez, 21, of West, was playing basketball at a nearby school when the fire started. He and his friends thought nothing of it at first, but about a half hour later, the smoke changed color. The blast threw him, his nephew and others to the ground, and showered the area with hot embers, shrapnel and debris.

"The explosion was like nothing I've ever seen before," Perez said. "This town is hurt really bad."

This brief medical update comes from a reporter at the WacoTrib.com news website.

This photograph of the aftermath of the blast gives some sense of the scale of the destruction at the fertiliser plant itself.

Rory Carroll has filed an update to our main news story. This is an extract:

A massive explosion at a fertiliser plant in Texas has devastated a town, levelling buildings, setting others on fire and causing casualties that authorities fear could run into the hundreds.

The blast shook the earth and rolled a huge fireball through the town of West at about 8pm local time on Wednesday, witnesses said, destroying homes and businesses.

"It was a like a nuclear bomb went off," the mayor, Tommy Muska, told reporters. "Big old mushroom cloud. There are a lot of people that got hurt. There are a lot of people that will not be here tomorrow."

Two people were immediately reported killed but the death toll could rise to 60 or 70, said George Smith, an emergency management system director. "That's a really rough number, I'm getting that figure from firefighters, we don't know yet." Firefighters were feared to be among the casualties.

Glenn Robinson, chief executive of Hillcrest Baptist Medical Centre in Waco, 18 miles south of the town, told CNN his hospital had treated 66 people, including 38 who were seriously hurt with blast injuries and lacerations.

David Argueta, vice-president of hospital operations, said staff had treated lacerations and orthopaedic-type injuries. "We are being told that we have seen most of the patients, and it's now turned into a search-and-rescue operation on scene."

A spokesman for the Texas department of public safety, DL Wilson, told Reuters the blast had probably caused "hundreds of casualties". A nursing home had collapsed and people were believed trapped inside, he said. It registered as an earth tremor of magnitude 2.1.

West, located in McLennan county in central Texas, is about 80 miles south of Dallas. It has a population of 2,700. The blast from its fertiliser plant was heard at least 45 miles away.

Television pictures showed apocalyptic scenes of fire and smoke from ruined buildings close to the factory.

There was no immediate confirmation on what caused the apparent accident, which followed a terrorist attack in Boston. US Representative Bill Flores, whose district includes West, told CNN he doubted foul play was involved. "I would not expect sabotage by any stretch of the imagination."

This is a pretty full summary of what we know so far on the WacoTrib.com website.

This paragraph is worth noting:

West Mayor Tommy Muska said shortly after 11 p.m. that six or seven firefighters were in the plant at the time of the explosion and they are not accounted for.

A surgeon in Waco has tweeted this update, passed on by the @wacotrib local Twitter news feed.

The governor of Texas, Rick Perry, said in a statement that state emergency services had been mobilised to help deal with the fertiliser explosion. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of West and the first responders on the scene,” he said.

According to the Washington Post a member of West’s city council, Al Vanek, said there was a four block area around the explosion that was “totally decimated”.

D. L Wilson, a Texas Department of Safety spokesman, told a news conference the damage was comparable to the destruction caused by the 1995 bomb blast which destroyed a large building in Oaklahoma City, killing 168 people.

Authorities in West say it will be some time before they know the extent of those injured or killed in the fertiliser plant explosion.

“We’ve got a lot of people who are hurt, and there’s a lot of people, I’m sure, who aren’t gonna be here tomorrow,” said West’s mayor, Tommy Muska. “We’re gonna search for everybody. We’re gonna make sure everybody’s accounted for. That’s the most important thing right now.”

Emergency crews are reported to be pulling back from the fertiliser plant because of concerns about another explosion.

The fire is thought to have started in an anhydrous ammonia tank before it spread to the buildings at the plant. More than 80 people are believed to be being treated in a number of hospitals as a result of the explosion.

No casualty figures have been confirmed but the head of West’s emergency management services, Dr George Smith, told local television he thought as many as 60 or 70 people may have been killed:

“We do have confirmed fatalities,” Wilson said.

“It’s going to be a number.”

He said the blast caused “a tremendous amount of injuries,” and estimated the number hurt at more than 100.

The blast ripped a 50-unit apartment building apart, leaving little more than a skeleton, Wilson said.

The Waco Herald Tribune newspaper reported that many buildings had caught fire as a result of the explosion at the West Fertilizer company.

According to West’s mayor, Steve Vanek, firefighters had been trying to put out a fire at the plant when the explosion happened. Asked whether he thought firefighters may have been killed in the blast, Vanek told the paper he feared the worst “but was praying for the best”.

The instant that the burning fertiliser plant exploded, caught on camera by people who were watching nearby. Their terrible shock is clearly evident.

A video taken by some understandably fearful residents in the West area as a mushroom cloud loomed on the horizon in the minutes afterwards. Some strong language.

West is a small farming community of 2,700 people in Texas, about 30km north of the town of Waco where, 30 years ago on Friday, more than 70 men women and children died in a fire at the end of a three-month siege. Local officials described the explosion as an “unbelievable tragedy”.

DL Wilson of the department of public safety told a news conference that 50 to 75 houses have been destroyed. He said the explosion was “massive” and “just like Iraq” . In addition to the houses destroyed he described an apartment complex as having being “reduced to a skeleton”.

The fire that tore through the fertiliser factory in West sent a plume of flames and smoke high into the air. Local residents described the explosion as sounding like a bomb had gone off.

The windows in some residential houses a mile away from the explosion were blown out. Nearby residents have been evacuated from their homes.

A huge blast at a fertiliser factory is feared to have killed dozens of people in the American state of Texas.

The explosion in the town of West at 7.50pm Wednesday night local time apparently caused a large fireball and shockwave that ripped through surrounding buildings, including a school and nearby nursing home.

The director of West’s emergency management services, Dr George Smith, told local television he thought as many as 60 or 70 people may have been killed and at least 100 injured.

More live updates will follow ...