According to CBS News, local authorities say 60-plus people are dead and hundreds are injured due to a plant explosion in West, Texas.
An earlier press release from the Associated Press is published below:
WEST, Texas (AP) Officials say it’ll be some time before they know how many people have been killed in a fertilizer plant explosion in the town of West, Texas.
Firefighters were already at the plant battling a fire when the explosion happened Wednesday night. It was so strong it could be felt from 45 miles away, and sent flames shooting high into the night sky, raining burning embers, shrapnel and debris. Officials say more than 100 people have been injured.
The explosion has also leveled buildings for blocks in every direction. Al Vanek, a city council member, says a four-block area around the explosion “is totally decimated.” Some of damaged buildings are a housing complex with a collapsed roof, a nearby middle school and the West Rest Haven Nursing Home, where first-responders evacuated more than 130 patients.
Residents who have not evacuated are being told to stay indoors because of the threat of new explosions or leaks of ammonia from the plant.
