lives. closing in. a possible breakthrough in the boston bombings investigation. inside search for the terror suspect with the backpac

this is a special edition of "nightline" with terry moran. >> good evening and welcome to boston here where we are here in the aftermath of the marathon bombings on monday and the accelerating investigation today. but we have breaking news tonight out of texas. just a few hours ago, there was a tremendous explosion at a fertilizer plant just north of waco. >> i can't hear, i can't hear! get out of here, please get out of here!

please get out of here! please get out of here! please get out of here! >> you can get a sense of the tremendous force that was released in that explosion. the fertilizer plant blowing up. witnesses saw a fireball 100 feet in the air resolving itself into a towering cloud over the plains of texas. we are hearing that more than 170 people have been injured, more than 20 of those critically. told by police in the area that there are fatalities, confirmed fatalities. they don't want to give us the exact number at this point. that explosion that you just saw registered a 2.1 on the rick administer scale, according to the usgs. just a devastating explosion. the department of public safety in texas is telling us that somewhere between 70 and 100 buildings nearby were completely devastated. among those buildings an

apartment building and a nursing home, a middle school. rescue workers are now going house to house to see who might be there, who needs help. it's a tremendous mass casualty event on the plains of texas. and our abc steve osunsami is on the soon rig the scene right now with a report. >> reporter: terry, we just left that triage center where authorities are waiting and hoping that as they search this nursing home that was badly destroyed and as they search the apartment building that they are able to perform rescues tonight. there are at least a dozen ambulana.m ambulances there waiting, many medical personnel hoping that they can treat people on the scene. a number of people have been airlifted to local hospitals. we're right now about a mile or two away from the plant and you can see just what the explosion did to windows of businesses nearby. just tore, shattered the windows

in some of these businesses. we talked with some of the residents who were as many as 20 and 30 miles away and they say they felt it in their homes. this cell phone video captured the raging fire at the fertilizer plant in west texas. onlookers gathered to watch. and then -- >> i can't hear, i can't hear! get out of here! >> reporter: rock ted by an explosion so powerful it registered a 2.1 on the rick administer scale. >> it sucked doors out of the building. i lost some of my friends, i'm telling you. >> it looks like -- you remember seeing the atomic bomb, that plume. well, there it was right to the north of where i live. >> reporter: the fire spread from house to house across this town. >> imagine what kind of damage we're looking at there. i know there was at least 50 to 75 houses damaged, apartment complex, we have about 50 units

in it that was completely -- just skeleton standing up. >> reporter: the injured were rushed to a local football field that had turned into a makeshift field hospital. those seriously injure wednesday thrown by helicopter to area hospitals. we arrived at that triage center near that high school football field where authorities were waiting for anyone they might find in that nursing home or what's left of that apartment building. the search and rescue is ongoing and the hundreds of paramedics and firefighters gathered here are on the ready. dozens of ambulances lined up, ready to move the injured to local hospitals. >> scary. >> reporter: families who live nearby told us it sounded like a bomb, like an earthquake. it shattered their windows miles away from the blast. did it sound like a boom? >> reporter: this little girl us it felt like a rock hit her town. >> shaking my house. >> reporter: dozens of ambulances lined up ready to

move the injured to local hospitals. we are going door to door and evacuating that area and searching. for survivors as well as for deceased. >> reporter: families who came here who live nearby told us it sounded like a bomb, like an earthquake. it shattered their windows miles away from the blast. this little girl told us it felt like a rock hit her town. what did it sound like again? >> fire. >> reporter: it sounded like fire? did it sound like a boom? >> boom, like a rock fell on the city. >> reporter: do you have friends and family who live back there? >> yes, we have family that's lost their houses. we're here making sure nobody needs a place to stay. brought blankets, sleeping bags, pillows, everything we could think of. >> you just see loads upon loads of people in their wheelchairs being pushed. some of them not even bandaged up, blood all over their legs, all over their face, people

running, hectic and everything. >> reporter: detective george willoughby felt the blast at his house 40 miles away. >> it is destroyed. the apartment complex destroyed. nursing home, school. a lot of -- lot of homes. >> reporter: at the west food mart, all the windows were blown out. broken glass scattered on the sidewalk. >> we're going to build back. not the end of the world. it's just -- it's just a big old cut that we've got across our heart. >> reporter: there are some concerns about what might be in the air. right now there's a dust in the air. but there are some worries that there could be chemicals in the air that people are breathing. we've talked to a number of people who knew some of the favorites who were hurt in this incident. they say that there were at least a few firefighters who were hurt, hurt badly in this incident. and also some people who knew folks who were at the nursing home. just everyone we talked with who lived in this town had some

connection to someone who was hurt, and we believe that there are certainly fatalities tonight. terry? >> thank you, steve osunsami. in that small town of west, texas, reeling from this devastating explosion. more than 170 people injured. as you heard steve report. when we come back, we'll be talking to the man who's running the hospital where most of those injured have been taken for an update on just how bad this is. [ female announcer ] dear guys, looking for the perfect pair of levi's? ♪ the right color, the right style, the right fit? come to the levi's denim bar at jcpenney because you deserve the perfect pair at a great price. ♪

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welcome back. we return now to the breaking news out of west, texas. that is a town of a couple of thousand people, about 20 miles north of waco, texas, where this terrific explosion at a fertilizer plant has devastated the town and injured more than 170 people. many of those injured were taken to hillcrest hospital. a little while ago we got to speak by phone with the man who runs that hospital, glenn robinson, who told us what he and his staff are doing to help the injured on this disastrous night. >> at this hour we have now treated more than 100 patients at our trauma center here at hillcrest. we're part of a larger system. scott white memorial which is 30 miles farther to the south, they have also treated several patients this evening. we transferred two pediatric patients to our children's hospital that we knew immediately they would benefit from a higher level of pediatric

care. and also area community hospitals have treated additional patients as well. we don't have a total number that have been treated by all the facilities in our region, but it is certainly probably -- at least 150 or more. i'm pleased to report to you, in talking to our trauma surgeons who are here 24 hours a day, seven days a week at our trauma center, they are telling us that probably tonight we will probably wind up admitting 82 of those patients. some have already been treated and released. others will probably be treated and released somewhere between now and daybreak or shortly thereafter. >> wa kind of injuries are you seeing? how serious are the injuries to the patients that you're treating there? >> there are a number of minor injuries and minor lacerations and those types of things. as you would expect. >> mr. robinson, what we're seeing is a devastating

explosion for a wide area around that plant. a populated area in the town of west, texas. have you heard of fatalities, have you lost anyone at the hospital? >> no, we have had zero fatalities here. of course, we're hearing the reports, as you are, that we certainly anticipate having a number of fatalities there at the scene and especially as morning comes and they're able to sift through more of the debris and more of the, you know, explosion blast that is there. certainly we hope and pray that's not the case. tonight our prayers are with all the citizens of west and their loved ones around the country and around the world. >> absolutely. a lot of prayers going out to west, texas, today. for the harrowing events there. we also got the chance to speak with sergeant patrick swanson of

the west police department. and he did confirm for us that there have been fatalities. we turn now to sergeant swanson. >> what can you tell us about it? >> well, just to kind of bring you up to speed, i can tell you about 6:00 p.m. tonight, west fire department responded to a fire call at a fertilizer plant. shortly after they got there, there was a massive explosion about 50 minutes later. the firefighters and law enforcement that were there and some of the community members were in the process of evacuating people away from the area. because they knew the significant danger there at the fire -- in the fertilizer plant. once they started doing that, the explosion occurred. there have been numerous people injured, we're talking in the hundreds. there are confirmed fatalities. at this point, we do not have numbers. we're waiting to see specifically a little bit better

count before we start putting out numbers. but we're probably going to see that increase as we do a little bit more of a recovery operation at some point later in the morning. i can tell you, i just talked to my commander who is on the ground there, on the scene. we are going door to door. there are numerous law enforcement agencies, fire agencies involved. the community west has had tremendous outpouring from the local surrounding communities and cities. this is a very close-knit type community. they're all looking out for each other. and certainly have come to each other's aid in their moment of need here. at this point, the community that i've talked to that's on the ground has told me that they're going from house to house. they still have to be very careful because of structural damage. to homes and to businesses. they're concerned about secondary explosions with gas mains, gas valves.

encore utilities are here, have shut down gas in and around the blast area. also have shut down power in and around the area. i can tell you as i was coming to the scene and driving through, seeing some of the devastation that is there, it is very, very bad. >> and that is the story tonight out of west, texas. a small community devastated but one that is clearly pulling together with many of the other communities around there. some tough days ahead for them. when we come back, we'll bring you here to boston, tell you about the investigation, the accelerating investigation into the marathon bombings up next. i've been going around the country asking people

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it's been two days since the deadly bombings at the boston marathon here. and in that time, the investigation into who was responsible for that atrocity has really accelerated with some very promising leads. they found pieces of the bombs themselves fashioned from common pressure cookers. the security camera footage from buildings around the city, as there are in so many cities. and there are those thousands of pictures and videos taken by ordinary fans and supporters of the runners documenting every stage of that race. and now, tonight, as the fbi investigation continues and they're following every lead, there is growing optimism that they are closing in on the killer. here's abc's chief investigative correspondent brian ross. >> reporter: the federal courthouse in boston where any suspect would likely stand trial was evacuated late in the day

because of a bomb threat that understandably was taken very seriously. >> what are they telling you? >> code red, evacuate the building. >> code red, evacuate the building. >> reporter: no bomb was found, it was only two days ago that terror and strategy struck boston at the finish line of its storied patriots day marathon. it set off a frantic search to find the killer or killers with an entirely new set of methods at the disposal of investigators who are now looking for the person or persons responsible. >> everyone does have a digital profile that offers you a couple of opportunities. the first opportunity it offers you is to try to find the right people to look at. if someone's talking about an act of violence, that somebody obviously should come into the investigative lens. >> reporter: authorities say the fbi is focused on photographs, including some taken by a surveillance camera at the lord and taylor store, that show a man in the race day crowd using his cell phone with a black bag

strapped across his chest that authorities say may contain the bomb. >> if, in fact, the fbi has a face from surveillance video at the lord and taylors, they may be able to use facial recognition software to run that face against databases. >> reporter: the key frames are just a few of the millions of frames of video examined in the last 36 hours by a special team of fbi forensic experts. they work for the operational technology division and they've set up facilities at a restricted location near the boston harbor. this is where the evidence and the video is brought and the agents are masters at using their facial recognition software. the new science of converting a face into a name demonstrated here by grant fredericks who runs an indiana company that was used by the fbi following the 9/11 attacks. >> going from a face to a name is by getting the public's help.

it will likely be the face will be at distance, trying to do some kind of facial mapping or electronic process to identify the face will not be effective. >> reporter: the internet has been full of amateurs trying to do it themselves. claiming that maybe they found the bombers. and fredericks says that has a huge downside. >> there's a danger in the public playing junior g-man and identifying potential suspects and putting them on the news. you don't know how that's going to affect an innocent person. and so it's a very dangerous game to play. >> reporter: in addition to the videos and photos, the fbi tech agents are also examining tiny bits of debris recovered at the crime scene. there are wire fragments with the manufacturer's name. tiny nails apparently used as shrapnel. as well as the mangled remains of that pressure cooker that agents say was used to build the bomb. it may well have fingerprints still on it. >> they're going to be able to identify those items right down

to perhaps the type of bag, the type of accelerant, the type of detonator. all that becomes extremely important in a trial if you can match those items to a particular suspect. >> reporter: ultimately, whoever is arrested for the bombing will almost certainly face at least three counts of premeditated murder for the deaths of 8-year-old martin richard, 29-year-old krystelle campbell, and a third identified, a native of china. >> thanks to brian for that. a program note. in our east coast broadcast we used a video excerpt that was not related to the explosion of the fertilizer plant of west, texas. that was immediately addressed and corrected. we thank you for watching abc news. tune into "good morning america" for all the latest. good nig

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