Texas Fertilizer Plant Fire Fully Tamed, No Risk of New Blast

The blast at a fertilizer plant in Texas felt like tornado, witnesses say. Photo by EPA/BGNES

The fire from the massive explosion at a fertilizer plant that rocked the Texas town of West Wednesday at approximately 7:50 pm, has been fully extinguished.

The local police spokesperson, cited by KUT News, further reported that currently there was no danger of a new blast.

Between 5 and 15 people are thought to have been killed by the explosion, which witnesses said was "like a tornado."

According to the West mayor, more than 160 people were injured as 50 to 60 of homes and buildings were destroyed. A nursing home had collapsed in the explosion and some people were trapped inside. The local school has also sustained serious damages.

Shock waves of an earthquake with a 2-points magnitude were felt as far as Arlington, Texas, approximately 100 miles away.

Emergency services are still going from home to home trying to find survivors.

Three or four firefighters who had been tackling an earlier blaze at the site are still missing, police say.

Another member of the emergency services is now in hospital with severe injuries.

The operation remains in "search-and-rescue mode" and is not yet in "recovery mode", Sargent William Swanton, of the Waco police department, cited by BBC, told a news conference on Thursday.

Earlier, he said he could not give an accurate figure of the number of people killed in the explosion - but estimated between 5 and 15.

Other officials suggested the final death toll could be significantly higher.

According to Swanton, the blast site was being treated as a crime scene, but it was procedural and he had "no indications this was anything other than an accidental fire."

West, a town of about 2700 people, is located some 32km north of Waco. 

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