Texas Chemical Plant Explodes; Broke Windows and Doors for 40 Miles!

27 November 2019

A massive explosion at a petrochemical plant sent a giant fireball into the air, blew out windows and knocked locked doors off hinges as it shook homes more than 40 miles away.

Witnesses in Port Neches, Texas, said the powerful blast at the TPC Group refinery, which contains extremely hazardous chemicals, "felt like a bomb" as it roused residents from their sleep with a deafening and alarming boom.

Residents living within a half mile of the inferno were told to flee their homes in city, which is east of Houston and just inland from the Gulf of Mexico, amid fears that toxic smoke or dangerous gases were wafting from the plant.

Three workers were injured in the blast, which was captured by doorbell cameras. The fire and subsequent explosions were so intense that they were detected by a local TV station's weather satellite.

Residents in the neighboring state of Louisiana also felt the explosion which sent flames shooting hundreds of feet into the air.

There were additional explosions as firefighters battled the inferno and people were urged to stay away from the plant, which produces butadiene.

The Environmental Protection Agency lists butadiene as carcinogenic to humans. It has been shown to cause cancer in lab animals and is primarily used to make rubber.

The cause of the blast was not yet known. TPC Group said it involved a processing unit.