Thousands of people are evacuated after fiery explosions near Texas chemical plant
- An explosion at a chemical plant in Port Neches, Texas, prompted officials to order everyone in a four-mile radius to evacuate on Wednesday afternoon.
- Roughly 60,000 people in the surrounding areas were evacuated, CBC News reported.
- The Port Neches police department said in a Facebook post that it was trying to enact a curfew by Wednesday evening.
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An explosion at a chemical plant in Port Neches, Texas, prompted officials to order everyone in a four-mile radius to evacuate on Wednesday afternoon.
Sounds of multiple explosions at the TPC Group plant in eastern Texas could be heard as flames erupted towards the sky. Roughly 60,000 people in the surrounding areas were evacuated, CBC News reported.
The Port Neches police department said in a Facebook post that it was trying to enact a curfew by Wednesday evening. According to local news station KBMT, "A 10 p.m. curfew is in place for affected areas only."
Three people were injured and no one was killed as of Wednesday afternoon, according to KBMT. One person was reportedly airlifted to a Houston hospital.
The explosions from a processing unit started at around 1:00 a.m. on Wednesday, according to TPC Group, the chemical manufacturing firm. The firm said around 30 people were working at the plant at the time of the explosion, and that all employees were accounted for.
"Right now our focus is on protecting the safety of responders and the public, and minimizing any impact to the environment," the company said in a statement. "The event is on going, but will be brought under control as quickly and safely as possible."