MASSIVE EXPLOSION NEAR WACO, TEXAS – Several Homes on Fire
— Blast could be felt in Dallas
— Initial reports suggest it was a fertilizer plant
— Senior citizens are trapped in a nursing home
— West Middle School was one of the buildings reported to be on fire.
— Officer dispatched to provide crowd control at Waco’s Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center
— Twenty miles north of Waco in West, Texas
— Report- 4 blocks of homes LEVELED
It was a MASSIVE BLAST–
A plume from the blast in West, Texas, believed to be from a fertilizer plant. Picture: Twitter
**** The siege on the Waco Compound was twenty years ago this week.
Reuters reported:
Several homes are on fire, and residents of a nearby retirement home are trapped inside after an explosion at a fertilizer plant exploded in West, Texas, a small town near Waco. The cause of the explosion and extent of the damage is unclear, but the local Department of Public Safety says that several people are severely injured. The explosion could be felt as far away as Dallas, which is nearly 100 miles away.
Several firefighters were injured among the explosion at the West Fertilizer plant shortly before 8 p.m..
Triage on the local football field, via Twitter.
UPDATE: Some residents of both the nursing home and apartment building were reportedly severely injured.
UPDATE: DISPATCH SAYS GET AWAY FROM THE PLANT… ANOTHER TANK IS ON FIRE.
UPDATE: Local news says says up to four blocks of homes near the explosion were leveled.
UPDATE: Could be West Fertilizer Plant at 1471 Jerry Mashek Drive
Here’s another photo of the explosion and fire:
And here’s a map of the plant in West Texas.
UPDATE: Sky News is reporting – Up to 70 dead in the West fertilizer blast.
UPDATE: VIDEO OF THE BLAST–
Oh My God— Watch the whole thing