May 26 (Reuters) – A chemical tank imploded and ruptured at a Nippon Dynawave Packaging facility in the U.S. state of Washington on Tuesday, resulting in multiple deaths and critical injuries, authorities said.
Emergency responders remained at the site in the city of Longview in Cowlitz County, about 45 miles north of Portland, Oregon, said the Longview Fire Department in a joint written statement with Nippon and the Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Department.
Multiple patients who suffered from chemical burns and other injuries were transported to nearby hospitals. Authorities said the implosion posed “no immediate threat to the surrounding community.”
The statement said that officials “can confirm fatalities related to the incident” along with “multiple critical injuries,” but did not provide figures.
At least nine workers and one firefighter were taken to hospitals from the site, said Scott Goldstein, the Cowlitz 2 Fire & Rescue chief who was among those who responded. The number of fatalities was “undetermined,” he added at a press conference.
PeaceHealth St. John Medical Center in Longview told ABC News it had seen nine patients related to the incident, including one who had died. Six of the patients were in fair condition, and two other patients had been transferred, the hospital told ABC.
The joint statement said that a tank containing “white liquor,” a chemical solution of sodium hydroxide and sodium sulfide used in production of paper pulp, had ruptured around 7:15 a.m. local time (1415 GMT).
Goldstein said at the press conference that the 80,000-gallon tank was approximately 60% full.
In southern California, meanwhile, authorities have been monitoring an overheating industrial tank containing highly flammable methyl methacrylate. The worst-case possibility of an explosion was ruled out on Monday at the GKN Aerospace facility in Garden Grove after a crack relieved some of the mounting pressure, officials said.
Orange County Fire Authority spokesman Greg Barta said in an update on Tuesday morning that the temperature in the tank was holding steady and that crews were working to ensure that people evacuated could get home as soon as possible.
(Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis in Washington, Ryan Patrick Jones in Toronto and Brad Brooks in Colorado; Editing by Caitlin Webber, Donna Bryson and Rosalba O’Brien)
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