By Jaime Ortega
WACO, Texas — Local media in Waco, Texas are reporting an explosion with injuries at a fertilizer plant.
Several buildings are reported destroyed. KWTX reports a nursing home was damaged after the explosion just north of Waco.
Local scanner traffic reports multiple structures on fire with many people trapped. A local school football field is being setup as a staging area at 900 North Reagan. Emergency units are also being asked to gather and Haven and Reagan.
It is not clear yet how many people are injured. Evacuations are underway. Residents 65 miles away reported hearing the blast.
Two large explosions at a fertilizer plant in Texas caused numerous injuries and sent flames shooting high into the night sky on Wednesday, authorities say.
Department of Public Safety troopers were using their squad cars to transport those injured by the blast and fire at the plant in West, a community north of Waco, Gayle Scarbrough, a spokeswoman for the department’s Waco office, told television station KWTX. She said six helicopters were also en route to help out.
American Red Cross crews from across Texas are being sent to the site. Red Cross spokeswoman Anita Foster says her group is working with emergency management officials to find a safe shelter for residents displaced from their homes.
She says teams from Austin to Dallas and elsewhere are being sent to the community.
The blast at West Fertilizer plant, reported shortly before 8 p.m. CT, was confirmed by Waco police dispatch operators. “First responders are dealing with numerous injuries and major damage to structures and vehicles,” Scarbrough said.
Several buildings, some in residential areas, were reported to be burning, others destroyed, and a nearby nursing home was damaged, according to a report from KWTX
.
Initial reports say people are trapped in a nearby nursing home and an apartment building. according to Reuters.
According to scanner traffic, authorities are trying to block drivers from coming into town and evacuations are underway, FOX17 reports.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry released a statement on the blasts late Wednesday: “We are monitoring developments and gathering information as details continue to emerge about this incident. We have also mobilized state resources to help local authorities. Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of West, and the first responders on the scene.”
