At least five to 15 people were killed and more than 160 wounded when a large fertilizer plant explosion rocked a small Texas town late Wednesday, destroying dozens of homes under a cloud of toxic smoke, police said.
Between three and five firefighters were still missing, Waco, Texas, police Sgt. William Patrick Swanton told reporters early Thursday.
Fiery explosions at a Texas fertilizer plant in a small town north of Waco Wednesday evening sent about 120 people to hospitals and apparently destroyed dozens of homes and businesses.
Area hospitals reported treating slightly more than 120 people injured by the blasts.
Texas Department of Public Safety spokesman Gail Scarborough had earlier put the number of injured near the plant even higher — 200 people, 40 of them critically.
ABC News has not confirmed any deaths.
Besides the injuries, 75 to 100 houses and business were completely destroyed in and around the plant, Scarborough said.
“It’s total chaos,” West City Councilwoman Cheryl Marak said, according to ABC News Radio. “There’s ambulances and fire trucks and police cars from everywhere.”
