Smoke rises from the scene of a fertilizer plant explosion near Waco, Texas, on Wednesday, April 17..
By M. Alex Johnson, Becky Bratu and John Newland, NBC News
A large fertilizer plant explosion rocked a small Texas town late Wednesday, causing fatalities, injuring "hundreds" of people and leaving dozens of homes destroyed.
Firefighters, including local volunteers, were battling a blaze at the time of the blast. Multiple officials confirmed that fatalities in the explosion, but wouldn't give any early numbers.
First responders were among the people who remained unaccounted for early Thursday.
It is the “most devastating thing that’s happened to this community,” West Mayor Tommy Muska said at a news conference. "We need your prayers."
"There’s a lot of people that are hurt. And there’s a lot of people that I’m sure are not going to be here tomorrow."
Sgt. William Patrick Swanton of the Waco, Texas, Police Department said early Thursday that rescuers were searching "house to house, businesses to business, trying to get people out of the area," adding: "They are still pulling people out of their homes."
A further concern was toxic smoke and the presence of anhydrous ammonia. Swanton said the winds were expected to shift to the north about 8 a.m. ET, "so you're looking at a whole other area that might be affected as those winds shift." The Dallas-Ft. Worth metropolitan area, home to 6.7 million people, lies less than 70 miles north of the plant.
Muska said the fertilizer plant was already engulfed in flames between 6:30 and 7 p.m. local time (7:30 to 8 p.m. ET), when the explosion occurred.
An explosion at a fertilizer plant in West, Texas Wednesday night leaves hundreds injured as emergency officials respond to the situation.
"We know fire was there, we know law enforcement was there assisting with traffic, and I believe there were EMS ...," Swanton said.
Swanton describe a scene of devastation around the fertilizer plant: "I saw homes that were burning, homes that had significant devastation, windows blown out, bricks torn off, siding torn off. There were homes that were leveled."
Muska, who is a firefighter in addition to being mayor, was on his way toward the inferno at the time of the blast but was still a few blocks away.
"It blew my hat off, and then I heard it. I felt it before I heard it," Muska said. "It was a very powerful explosion."
He said the blast destroyed houses in a five- to six-block radius in the town, which lies 20 miles north of Waco.
Muska didn't estimate how many people might have been killed but said, "There’s a lot of people that I’m sure are not going to be here tomorrow. .... It is a cut across our hearts."
NBC 5 reported that some 200 people were injured in the explosion, with 40 of those in critical condition at various hospitals.
Swanton said early Thursday that "at this point we do not have confirmed numbers. I can tell you there are hundreds of people who have been injured." He said approximately 50-75 homes in the area have been damaged.
There are only about 2,700 residents in West.
"It's a lot of devastation. I've never seen anything like this," McLennan County Sheriff Parnell McNamara told Reuters. "It looks like a war zone with all the debris."
Baptist Medical Center in Waco said 66 patients have been treated at its trauma center. Those with lesser injuries had been discharged, while others had gone into surgery. The hospital said 38 patients are considered "seriously injured" and nine burn victims had been rushed to a Dallas burn center.
Amateur video demonstrates sheer size and power of explosion that rocked a fertilizer plant in west Texas.
Providence Hospital in Waco said it had received 65 patients, many with abrasions and broken bones and some in respiratory distress, apparently because of chemical inhalation.
Texas Department of Public Safety spokesman D.L. Wilson said that a nursing home had collapsed from the explosion and that people were believed trapped inside. Wilson said 133 people were inside the nursing home.
Swanton said "numerous people" were injured at the nursing home, which was being evacuated when the explosion occurred.
NBC station KCEN of Waco reported that many of the injured were being treated at a nearby community center. As many as a dozen helicopters were seen landing at a staging area at West High School.
The blast was felt as far as 15 miles away.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry said in a statement that state resources were being made available to local authorities.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of West, and the first responders on the scene," he said.
A White House official said the Obama administration was aware of the situation and monitoring local and state response through the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The explosion came two days before the 20th anniversary of a fire in Waco that engulfed a compound inhabited by David Koresh and his followers in the Branch Davidian sect, ending a siege by federal agents. Some 82 members of the sect and four federal agents died at Waco.
Reuters and NBC News' John Newland contributed to this story
This story was originally published on Wed Apr 17, 2013 11:10 PM EDT
