UPDATE (12:15am): A Texas Department of Public Safety official says there were fatalities in a massive explosion in the town of West, Texas Wednesday evening. 50 to 75 homes were damaged, along with a 50-unit apartment complex, in the explosion at a fertilizer plant there.
DPS Trooper D.L. Wilson says all of the roughly 100 people injured have been removed from the scene. He could not say how many people may have died in the blast, though he did say there were fatalities.
In an early morning press conference, Wilson described the devastation from the explosion, comparing it to bombings in Iraq or the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing of a federal building.
UPDATE (11:30pm): The mayor of the small town of West, north of Waco, says he does not yet know how many people may have been killed or wounded in a massive explosion at a fertilizer plant there.
Mayor Tommy Muska says there was a fire at the West Fertilizer Co. before the explosion around 8 p.m.
A hospital near Waco says more than 60 patients were brought there in the hours immediately after the blast, 38 of them seriously wounded.
People trying to locate friends and family are being told to call 254-202-1100.
Governor Rick Perry issued at statement saying he's mobilized state resources to help local responders.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of West, and the first responders on the scene," Perry's statement adds.
EARLIER: An explosion at a fertilizer plant in the town of West, Texas, approximately 20 miles north of Waco, is said to have laid waste to parts of the small town.
WFAA Dallas/Fort Worth reportsthe explosion occurred at the West Fertilizer Plant shortly after 8 p.m. The station cites a source stating “a large swath of the small town with a population of 2,800 has been leveled.”
CNN reportsthat Hillcrest Hospital in Waco, Texas “has been told to anticipate 100 injured people coming in from the fertilizer plant area.”
Multiple reports say the tiny town was ill-equipped for an explosion of this magnitude. The Dallas Morning News writes the explosion has left “people trapped and buildings on fire.” There is no definitive word on causalities at this time.
Below, a Storify timeline complied by KVUE. [View the story "Fertilizer plant explosion in West, Texas" on Storify]
