West Texas Explosion in Fertilizer Plant (Video)

Texas explosion
Image credit: Mike Stone

US authorities have not yet established anything about the identity and motives of the Boston Marathon bombing last Monday, April 15, 2013. Two days after the deadly blast in Boston and two days before the 20th anniversary of a Waco fire, another fiery explosion was experienced in West, Texas.

Police estimated that up to 15 persons were killed and about 160 were injured after the fire and explosion that hit the West Fertilizer Co plant on Wednesday night, April 17.

Due to heavy toxic fumes coming from the explosion, about half of the population in the small town of West was evacuated.

The explosion reportedly registered a 2.1 magnitude of ground movement, according to the US Geological Survey.
McLennan County Sheriff Parnell McNamara said that he had "never seen anything like this." McNamara described the scene that "looks like a war zone with all the debris."

Waco Police are still clueless about the cause of the explosion. Sergeant W. Patrick Swanton explained that they "are not indicating that it is a crime, but we don't know. What that means to us is that until we know it is an industrial accident, we will work it as a crime scene."

Full assessment of property damage has not been released as of posting. Authorities meanwhile estimated that about 50 to 80 homes and a 50-unit apartment were damaged by the explosion. About 133 people were evacuated from a nearby nursing home that was also damaged by the explosion.