Responders Search Texas Fertilizer Plant Blast Area

Emergency responders began combing through the blast zone on Thursday from a massive fertilizer-plant explosion in West, Texas that left up to 15 people dead or missing.

April 17, 2013

Screenshot via zidyboby/YouTube.

Emergency responders began combing through the blast zone on Thursday from a massive fertilizer-plant explosion in West, Texas that left up to 15 people dead or missing.

Heavy rain fell on the search teams in this town located about 80 miles south of Dallas. The West Fertilizer Co. stored and blended anhydrous ammonia that it distributed as fertilizer to local businesses, reports the Wall Street Journal.

More than 150 people have been treated for injuries relating to the fire and explosion. Several firefighters remain unaccounted for and a law enforcement constable and firefighter who had gone missing has been located with serious injuries, reports ABC News.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives has sent a team to the site to determine if the cause of the fire and explosion at the fertilizer plant was accidental or criminal.

The explosion was captured on cell phone video here.

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