It asked residents to avoid the area following the blaze, which broke out at around 1 a.m. local time (2 a.m. 2019 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. All employees have been accounted for, TPC said, confirming two employees and a contractor were injured. WebMost of the booms that people hear or experience are the result of human activity, such as an explosion, a large vehicle going by, nearby construction, or sometimes a sonic boom, but there have been many reports of booms that cannot be explained by man-made sources. Seven or eight homes in the "very rural area" are affected, and those residents could be displaced for several days, White said. The presence of these higher volatility molecules means that the concentrations of vapors in the tanks are higher than they used to be, said Rosselot. 6, resulting in changes to the way the products performand what they emit. In 2012, she produced the online interactive A Perfect Terrorist: David Coleman Headleys Web of Betrayal, which won an Overseas Press Club of America award. The tripwire set off the explosive device that was placed near a fence at 8:32 p.m. Sunday, police said. Julia Kane is currently pursuing her masters at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, where she is focusing on narrative writing and investigative reporting. Our first priority is people in the community and in our facilities, the company said. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, One killed in Jackson Heights apartment building fire, At least five died, including two children, in devastating Rockland County fire, Federal judge upholds demotions of FDNY chiefs, Retired NYC firefighter helps Spirit crew put out fire that broke out on plane. We rely on donations from readers like you to keep going. 6 fuel, because their emissions were thought to be negligible, are vented, allowing oxygen in and vapors out. BEIRUT (AP) A British court has ruled a London-based company that delivered the explosive ammonium nitrate to Beirut's port is liable towards the victims of a devastating blast in 2020, Lebanon's Beirut Bar Association said Thursday. WebShortly before 9 a.m. this morning, loud noises disrupted work in a nitric acid unit at the Invista Chemical Plant in Victoria, Texas. (AP) A body was found in a Maryland garden-style apartment building a day after an explosion and fire there and investigators are looking into the possibility of a criminal, intentional act, officials announced late Thursday. In a statement several hours after the fire broke out, ExxonMobil said its emergency response teams were still working to extinguish the fire. In some cases workers were injured or killed, and some explosions ignited fires in other, nearby tanks, causing whole neighborhoods to be evacuated. The Asphalt Institute did not respond to questions submitted to them by Inside Climate News. Webtoday: 2.5 in Mentone , Texas , United States. Copyright 2023 KTRK-TV. He ran out of the building to see what had happened. In some states, regulators do not require reporting, based on an incorrect assumption that there are no emissions to report. Harley, a 22-year-old living with her boyfriend about two miles from the ExxonMobil facility, said she thought the blast was "a bomb or an earthquake.". At 12:12 p.m., as he stood with one foot on the catwalk and the other on the lid of the Tank #17, Chambers lit his cutting torch, sending sparks flying. I didnt want there to be an evacuation and I wouldnt know because I was sleeping.. Whats more, even a small amount of a lower flash point additive could affect the point of ignition of the substance its added to. TOWN OF MAPLE GROVE, Wis. (AP) Four people remain hospitalized in Wisconsin burn centers with injuries from a bonfire explosion last week during a party in the Town of Maple Grove, authorities said Thursday. And I just noticed two picture frames on the wall fall down and the sound and that didnt match up. The EPA has been aware of problems with the formula since at least 2007, but has not called for its field offices to investigate the emissions or required that companies directly measure and report emissions. Surfside Beach Police Department's Marine Division assisted Port Freeport police and the U.S. Coast Guard on the waterways. TOWN OF MAPLE GROVE, Wis. (AP) Authorities investigating a bonfire explosion over the weekend in eastern Wisconsin said Monday that as many as 40 people might have been injured in the blaze, including some who were seriously hurt. Harvey Patel was eating lunch inside the Budget Inn Ennis on April 23, 2018 when he felt a shockwave rattle the building. Smoke billows from a fire following an explosion caused by a crash between a train and an 18-wheeler near Cameron, Texas, on Feb. 23, 2021. MINOT, N.D. (AP) A small explosion and fire disrupted care on the third floor of a Minot hospital. It is a colorless gas with a gasoline-like odor, used to produce synthetic rubber products like tires, plastics and other chemicals. In the March fire, prosecutors filed five water pollution charges against the company that owns the petrochemical storage facility after chemicals flowed into a nearby waterway. The Harris County Sheriff's Office said deputies were responding to the incident and that "some injuries" had been reported. In many cases, there was hot work or torch heating on or near the tanks, wrote the author, Robert Zalosh. All Rights Reserved. Asphalt tanks dont really worry us very much, said Mike Hildebrand, an expert in safety management and hazardous materials who wrote a handbook on emergency response for bulk storage tanks, because compared with other petroleum products, asphalt has a high flash point. It also apologized for any disruption or inconvenience that this incident may have caused the community. In that incident, more than 60 people were sent for medical evaluation following the blast. Dan Gearinos habit-forming weekly take on how to understand the energy transformation reshaping our world. (AP) Twelve people were injured, two of them critically, in an explosion and fire at a Maryland apartment building Wednesday and the residents of one unit have not been accounted for, a fire official said. "Kind of like a little mini earthquake.". Download the NBC News app for breaking news, "They have got a lot of people working on it," White said Tuesday evening. Gas and electricity was turned off to most of the homes on the street until about 9:30 p.m., when Atmos Energy and Oncor Electric representatives determined it was safe to restore gas and power. IE 11 is not supported. Davis said he could not confirm whether an explosion had taken place at the facility. A number of other residents took to Twitter to share their concerns following what they too described as an "explosion. Jefferson County Emergency Management coordinator Mike White told the Beaumont Enterprise that five residents were being treated for minor injuries, mostly related to shattered glass. At a press conference Wednesday night, Jefferson County Judge Jeff Branick said that there were also a number of smaller explosions throughout the day. But I feel as if this one was louder and bigger than the one in 2019, she said. The Veracruz state civil defense office said most of the people injured in the explosion Tuesday in the town of Agua Dulce suffered first-degree burns. The cause of the fire was found to be a leaking natural gas line. The explosion, which was captured on video, launched wooden boards, window glass, insulation and other debris at least 100 feet into the air in Evansville, the Evansville Courier & Press reported. Gasoline is well known to be a volatile liquid and consequently, gasoline vapors are controlled using an internal floating roof to keep oxygen out and the vapors in, averting potential explosions. An investigation is underway at Freeport LNG in Surfside Beach after reports of an incident Wednesday. The windows on both sides of the building shook, and Patel, the general manager of the motel, said he could feel the blast inside his body. Updated on: November 27, 2019 / 9:34 PM Two foreign residents were injured when they jumped out of windows to escape, said Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban government's spokesman. Police and multiple fire departments responded at 1 a.m. GAITHERSBURG, Md. Chaos broke out, as flames erupted from one tank and Chambers co-workers were unsure if he was alive inside the other one. The blast was so powerful that it sent the 12-foot diameter lid of the tank flying, before it landed on an employees car. It included a section on the role that additives can play in contributing to these kinds of explosions. like, a wave," Sarah Martinez, who lives right across from the plant with her 4-year-old son, told NBC News. TPC officials know that at least three tanks have been damaged, but firefighters have not been able to fully assess the harm, Monk said. This story has been shared 128,919 times. COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) A Swedish prosecutor wants a supplementary crime scene investigation" at the site of explosions that damaged two natural gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea and said Friday that a preliminary probe concluded the cause was suspected gross sabotage.". The explosion happened in a remote area in Orakzai, a district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, said Mohammad Arif, an adviser for the Mines and Minerals Department. WebIf you or loved one has been injured in a serious accident in a chemical plant refinery accidents, call our San Antonio Plant & Refinery accidents lawyers today. A Texas pipeline explosion sparked a fire that could be seen from 30 miles away. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Whats more: Chambers was still alive. QUINTANA, Texas (KTRK) -- No injuries were reported Wednesday after what police initially described as an explosion at a liquefied natural gas terminal near Freeport. We are saddened by todays tragedy of a house explosion in our City. A fourth person was also being transported to hospital, he said. The Associated Press contributed to this report. By Jason Murdock On 1/24/20 at 7:14 AM EST. Police brought in an explosives detecting dog, though the dog did not discover any explosives or hazardous materials, and police determined that the site was not a crime scene. 6 oil, in bulk storage tanks across the United States, theres the potential for more explosions like the one that injured Chambers or the ones that kill and injure other workers each year. Freeport LNG reported that an incident occurred around 11:40 a.m. at its facility in the 1500 block of Lamar Street at the facility on Quintana Island, according to Brazosport CAER. But additives are not necessary for a pyrophoric explosion to occur. Monday's blasts left one teen dead and recent investigation by Inside Climate News, Lawmakers Urge Biden Administration to Permanently Ban Rail Shipments of Liquefied Natural Gas, In Pennsylvania, Home to the Nations First Oil Well, Environmental Activists Stage a Peoples Filibuster at the Bustling State Capitol. Chantal Da Silva is a breaking news editor for NBC News Digital based in London. Overturned gas tanker explodes, killing 1 person. No. She worked as a co-producer, field producer or associate producer on the Frontline films League of Denial (2013); Money, Power and Wall Street (2012); A Perfect Terrorist (2011); Dr. Hotspots (2011) and Law and Disorder (2010). Firefighters responded to Neptune Welding on Virginia Beach Boulevard just after 11 a.m., news outlets reported. TPC EXPLOSION: Home video from early morning explosion in Port Neches! As least 10 people were injured in a fire caused by a natural gas explosion in Texas Friday night, officials said. MEXICO CITY (AP) Authorities in the Mexican Gulf coast state of Veracruz said 19 people were injured where a pipeline carrying ethane gas exploded. This is the second in a series of articles. Staff with the Childrens Museum of Indianapolis said a frozen sprinkler line had burst, flooding the Welcome Center in the museum that's located on Indianapolis' near north side. Chambers and his wife are suing U.S. Polyco and the plant safety manager for negligence that resulted in his injuries. Fire officials said that of the six people hospitalized, one was extricated from the rubble of the home that exploded and the other five were in a home next door. One of the asphalt tanks at the plant had been damaged and needed to be demolished, and the 32-year-old foreman was part of a five-man crew of contractors charged with getting it done. On the way to the scene, ABC Houston affiliate KTRK's helicopter noticed the flames could be ET, Rohan Davis, a refinery manager at the ExxonMobil site, said that all four people in hospital appeared to be in stable condition. Inside a tank, asphalt is often heated to about 300F, meaning that technically, it should be well below the point at which it could light on fire. The explosion happened in Wallis, Texas, about 50 miles west of Houston. Carl Bradley Johansson, 64, of Newport Beach also was sentenced for tax evasion and for using fraud to receive more than $954,000 in COVID-19 relief money, according to the U.S. MORGANTOWN, Pa. (AP) A furnace explosion damaged the roof of a titanium plant in southeastern Pennsylvania on Thanksgiving Day, but no one was injured, authorities said. Laboratory tests have shown that addition of only three volume percent of heptane to Number 6 fuel oil, transformer oil, and asphalt, causes flash point reductions of between 60C and 137C, he wrote in the 1997 study. HARRIS COUNTY, Texas An explosion at an ExxonMobil plant in Texas injured four people early Thursday, according to the Harris County Sheriffs Office. / CBS/AP. The noise was also heard and felt in the nearby City of Socorro, according to acity representative. Smoke rises from trains as firefighters and rescuers operate after a collision near Larissa city, Greece, early Wednesday, March 1, 2023. Officials added that it's not yet clear when the evacuation order will be lifted.