A fiery explosion at a Texas fertilizer plant in a small town north of Waco sent about 120 people to hospitals, destroyed dozens of homes and businesses and prompted widespread evacuations.
Area hospitals reported treating slightly more than 120 people injured by the blast at the plant in West, Texas. Texas Department of Public Safety spokesman Gail Scarborough earlier put the number of injured near the plant even higher -- 200 people, 40 of them critically.
The blast also has caused fatalities, said State Trooper D.L. Wilson, another official with the Texas Department of Public Safety, though as of 1 a.m. ET he did not immediately know how many.
"We have tremendous amount of injuries, probably over 100 injuries at this time," Wilson said. "At this time, we do have confirmed fatalities."
Besides the injuries, officials said homes in a radius of about five blocks around the plant were heavily damaged -- perhaps 75 homes or more.
Witnesses reported heavy damage to a nursing home, a middle school and an apartment complex in the area.
"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."
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