Searchers have found 14 bodies at the scene of a powerful blast at a fertilizer plant that leveled several residential blocks in the small Central Texas town of West, officials said Friday.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry said search-and-rescue operations have been largely completed in the town where 200 people were injured in the powerful blast just before 8 p.m. Wednesday.
Flanked by local officials, Perry told a Friday afternoon news conference that all affected buildings had been cleared with possibly the exception of one burned home.
The recovered bodies were sent to a Dallas forensics lab for identification.
Texas Sen. John Cornyn told television station WFAA that search-and-rescue workers had a list of several dozen people who are unaccounted for and were checking that list against those people who are still hospitalized, staying with relatives or evacuated because their homes were destroyed.
“So, hopefully that number will come way down, hopefully to zero,” Cornyn said.
West Mayor Tommy Muska says he was living in a hotel because his home was destroyed, so he could be on the list of those still unaccounted for.
The explosion at West Fertilizer was strong enough to register as a small earthquake and could be heard for many miles across the Texas prairie. It demolished nearly everything for several blocks around the plant, including 50 houses.
Texas Department of Public Safety Sgt. Jason Reyes said he could not confirm how many first-responders had been killed but said three fire rescue trucks and one EMS vehicle were destroyed.
The dead were found “in the area” of the demolished plant, Reyes said.
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram has identified 11 emergency responders — mostly volunteer firefighters — who are presumed dead.
Investigators still had no information on what sparked the fire, which drew several volunteer firefighters who were at the site when the plant exploded some 25 minutes later.
Also Friday, a U.S. Army reservist said some units have been scheduled to deploy to the blast area. It wasn’t clear Friday afternoon if their role would be to help with search and rescue, maintain order or help in other ways.
Searchers were continuing to look for victims as the sun rose Friday over the town of 2,800 just north of Waco.
“I think it is only appropriate we recognize (the search and rescue teams) for their professionalism and heroism as they try to bring closure to these families,” Reyes said.
Cornyn provided the most specific information about the number of dead and wounded since the blast occurred Wednesday. Texas’ senior senator said he was provided the figure when he was “briefed on it this morning by the authorities” investigating the tragedy.
Cornyn appeared briefly with fellow Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and U.S. Rep. Roger Williams of Austin. The Republican trio deflected questions about what they’ve been told about the possible cause of the blast, and whether anything could have been done at the federal or state level to prevent homes and schools from being built so close to a fertilizer plant.
“This is an agricultural community and ammonium nitrate is an important fertilizer,” Cornyn said.
Cornyn initially said the fire caused Wednesday’s explosion, but when asked if investigators had confirmed that he declined to elaborate. Williams then interjected that those questions should be directed to local officials.
Cruz said Texans and others concerned about the obvious potential dangers of fertilizer need to be patient.
“I think we need to allow time for a careful investigation,” Cruz said. “All of us out here want to know what happened here. I think it would be a mistake to rush to a conclusion before the facts are established.”
Williams said the blast investigation was being professionally handled by local, state and federal officials.
“We need to let this process work,” he said.
Some units of the U.S. Army Reserve have been scheduled to deploy to the scene of the plant explosion in West, Private first class Jacob Brown said.
Brown’s unit was not scheduled but he responded to a call for volunteers. If the scheduled units are sent to West, Brown said they will be helping in a variety of ways.
“They do whatever they can,” Brown said.
— Associated Press contributed to the story.
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