WEST, Texas, Apr 18: Hundreds of people were likely injured in a fiery explosion last night at a fertilizer plant near Waco, Texas, that damaged or destroyed numerous buildings including a nursing home, authorities said.
The blast was reported at about 0630 IST today in West, a town of some 2,700 people about (130 kilometers) south of Dallas and (32 km) north of Waco.
A spokesman for the Texas Department of Public Safety, D.L. Wilson, told Reuters the blast had probably caused “hundreds of casualties” and damaged many homes.
He added that a nearby nursing home collapsed from the explosion and that people were believed trapped inside.
A Reuters reporter observed that a middle school and several homes in the area appeared to have been severely burned.
More than 100 people injured in the blast and fire were being taken to Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center in Waco, said vice president of hospital operations David Argueta.
Hillcrest CEO Glenn Robinson told CNN that the hospital was seeing “everything from orthopedic injuries to patients that are experiencing serious blood loss.”
Governor Rick Perry issued a statement saying his office had “mobilized state resources to help local authorities” deal with the incident.
(AGENCIES)
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