Fire after an explosion in West, TX. (YouTube, Screenshot)

The explosion occurred around 8 p.m. Wednesday night at the West Fertilizer Co. in West, Texas, 20 miles north of Waco. According to NBC News, the blast is estimated to have killed 5 to fifteen people, injured more than 160, and destroyed 50 to 75 homes and businesses. Among the missing are three to four volunteer firefighters, who were fighting a fire at the plant before the explosion took place. Dr. George Smith, the city's emergency management system director, said the death toll could spike to 60 or 70. 

"I don't know how many folks may still be trapped in the rubble," said Sgt. William Patrick Swanton. "(Searchers) have not gotten to the point of no return where they don't think that there's anybody still alive." However, Reuters reported Thursday's rain and heavy 22 mph hour winds could complicate the search and rescue process and cause more evacuations in the 2,700 person town.

"I've never seen anything like this," said McLennan County Sheriff Parnell McNamara. "It looks like a war zone with all the debris."

A U.S. intelligence officer told CNN there is no indication, so far, that the blast is related terrorism. Swanton said, "Nothing at this point indicates we have had criminal activity, but we are not ruling that out.  

Volunteer firefighters responded to a call at the plant, according to the Huffington Post, and realized the plant's chemical stockpile could lead to danger. They began evacuating the building, and the explosion took place approximately 20 minutes later. "It, like, picked you up. It just took your breath away. And then it dropped you and it exploded everything around you… It was like a suction and then it just blew it all out. You could feel everything. You could feel it on your skin, your hair being blown. It was crazy," described one woman. The blast was equal in motion to a 2.1 magnitude earthquake, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. 

The danger might not be over though. "What we are hearing is that there is one fertilizer tank that is still intact at the plant, and there are evacuations in the place to make sure everyone gets away from the area safely in case of another explosion, said Ben Stratmann, a spokesman for Texas State Sen. Brian Birdwell. 

The U.S. Chemical Safety Board is sending a "large investigation team" to the scene to try and determine the explosion's cause. 

Read more of Neon Tommy's coverage of the explosion at the West ferilizer plant here.

Reach Executive Producer Briana Goodall here. 

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