perhaps a grim for shuttling, the mayor said that people may not be here. given the extent of the damage here and the force of the explosion, it's reasonable for us to conclude that there have been some terms of access to that area, i-35 has been closed. that is the main way in and out. you did tell us earlier that you were able to navigate through the back roads, being the crafty reporter that you are, but in terms of rescue crews and emergency responders getting access to that town, can you tell us about traffic, road closures? are they being restricted in their ability to get there and assist in this effort? >> there are road blocks on every perimeter road leading into the town. they are letting the emergency crews through, of course and they're taking some of the back roads. i saw some of the emergency vehicles on the back roads trying to avoid the traffic jam that is i-35 tonight. that is the main north-south corridor through this part of

texas. and it is jammed tonight not only with just normal traffic but with the hundreds of emergency vehicles that responded to this area from the neighboring communities to the north and south. >> and we just have some new information coming in in terms of the number of casualties. we have an official with waco pd telling nbc news that "i can tell you there are hundreds of individuals that have been injured. some are potentially going to be casualties, but no solid number of fatalities or injured." but the reports that we are hearing, again, the number we're hearing over and over again is hundreds. we don't know if that means one, two. we don't know the full extent of this. we are hearing reports that a number of patients are being treated at area hospitals for burns, that they are treating burn victims at this time. and then a number of patients, at least 38 at one facility alone, are considered seriously injured. we also know there's been extensive damage to buildings surrounding the explosion, that the force of that explosion damaged 75 to 100 buildings in the surrounding area.

we've shown some video this evening of a nursing home that was extremely damaged. they had to evacuate that facility altogether. and so rescuers are going door to door to try to reach the wounded. those who may have been injured by the secondary damage, if you will, the force of that explosion that destroyed some of the damages around the area. now, charles, you told us that west is a -- i'm sorry, we're hearing that the press conference is about to begin. so i may have to cut you off as you're answering this question. hold on one second. let's listen in to officials there. >> okay. first of all, our hearts and prayers go out to all the community out here in west. it's a small community. always opened their arms to everybody that passes through on i-35 in texas. our hearts and prayers go out in the unbelievable tragedy that's happened here tonight.

what we're looking at now, we've got the gas company turned off all the gas to the areas where the explosion happened. we do not need any more help. get that out right now. people are coming from hundreds of miles away to help us but right now we're overflowing with help and we do not need any more help as far as that goes. tomorrow morning the mayor's going to speak again. right now we have a tremendous amount of injuries. probably over 100 injuries at this time. we do have fatalities. the number is not current yet. it could go up by the minute. we're in there searching the area right now. and making sure that it's safe for any of the other people that are around there. and the firefighters are trying to be safe and go back in. there's a lot of the wind blowing, changing area. there's still smoking and there's little small flames and they don't want to get the

firefighters hurt or injured inside the blast area. i can tell you i was there, i walked through the blast area, i searched some houses earlier tonight. massive. just like iraq. just like the murrah building in oklahoma city. same kind of anhydrous exploded. so you can imagine what kind of damage we're looking at there. i know there was at least 75 to -- 50 to 75 houses damaged. there was an apartment complex that has about 50 units in it that was completely just skeleton standing up. there's a nursing home in the area that 133 people in the nursing home. we've got them evacuated. i don't know what their injuries are there right now. but all injuries have been removed from the scene and taken to local hospitals in the waco area. we've got numerous agencies helping us all the way from the dallas-ft. worth area, mcclint county, limestone hill, boskey and all the surrounding areas.

so we've had a significant turnout to come out to help to us get through this tragedy we've had in this small community. i wush i could give you more information. all the injured right now are being taken care of. we're going to go back in and do another house by house search and see if anybody else, the victims are in the houses. that's going to be going on all night. so we have a command post set up for law enforcement. we have a command post set up for the emergency units also. and we still have a triage center set up at the community center right up here across the interstate from us. >> what's the status of the plant right now? >> it's still smoldering. right now they did not give us any update on it. but it was smoldering and there still is active other ingredients there on the facility. so we don't want that to explode again. but right now we can't get firefighters in there. we're worried about people right now, not property. we want people to be safe. that's our main goal right now is getting the people safe and getting them out of there.

>> do you have a rough number on how many lives may have been lost? >> i do not know right now. it's going to be -- it's going to be a number. you know, i can't give you a number right now, but there is going to be a number out there. hopefully at 6:00 a.m. we'll know that. >> early estimates are 50 to 60, 70 maybe? >> i cannot confirm or deny that. i wish i could tell you something, but i do not have that number. >> is this fire under control? you say the situation's -- >> the firefighters are not fighting the fire right now. so it's still smoldering a little bit. there's not any large flames. but they're in the area but they cannot get close to it due to the toxic fumes that are coming off of it right now. >> is there a danger of fumes outside the plant? >> there is. they've cleared the area. i think it was about an eight to ten-block area that cleared. and they've moved people even back further. half of that town over there is totally, totally evacuated. what we're worried about now is when the north -- we're supposed to have a norther come through

tonight. when the wind changes we might have to evacuate on the other side of town. >> danger of fumes -- >> guys, i'm going to stop you there. i ask no comments. at this point let us get some more information. once we get that, we'll come back out and give you what we can. i know you've got a million questions but we've got to get those answers for you. >> initials d.l. wilson. thank y'all. >> we just heard from officials there in west texas on this fertilizer plant explosion. if i can just summarize what that gentleman there had to report, we do have some new information. in terms of the big question that everybody wants an answer to is how many casualties here. how many potential injuries or fatalities, he could not provide a specific number at this time. again, we have no confirmed number. but he did say, "there will be a tremendous amount of injuries." when asked about a number of fatalities he said, "there is going to be a number." indicating that he is certain at this time that there have been fatalities, they are just not

ready to confirm how many or they're still trying to tally up that damage. the gentleman that we just heard from did get an opportunity to survey the damage at that plant. he described it as "massive." he said it was "just like iraq. just like the murray building in oklahoma city." of course referring to the building, the federal building that was bombed, that was destroyed in a major way by that explosion in oklahoma city. and so this gentleman at least is comparing the plant explosion there in west texas to the explosion in oklahoma city. our affiliate kxas has reported that there are hundreds of injured. at least 200 injured. at least 40 in critical condition. we are hearing that area hospitals are receiving patients, that several are being treated for burns. they're treating burn victims, which again would be consistent with the nature of this accident. a massive fertilizer plant explosion. now, that explosion took place

reportedly just before 8:00 p.m. this evening local time. there was a fire burning at the time that the explosion took place, and so firefighters were on the scene battling that blaze at the time of the explosion. there are of course a lot of concerns about the fate of those firefighters at this time given that they were on scene at the time that that massive explosion took place. just to give you a sense of how big this explosion was, it was felt as far as 70 miles away. nbc's own charles hadlock was about 58 miles away, and he says that he felt something at the time that this explosion took place. it was heard even farther away. there was an individual who was driving who reported it as being like a tornado and said that it blew out her windshield. just to give you a sense of the power of that blast. now, it destroyed a number of buildings in the community. reportedly, 75 to 100 homes and businesses have been damaged and

destroyed in the area. we've seen footage. they are severely damaged. one nursing home was almost completely destroyed. had to be completely evacuated. 130 residents had to be evacuated. at this time officials continue going door to door to try to identify those who may need help, who may be wounded, injured in some way by this massive explosion. they have sent a number of individuals to area hospitals. again, this town of west is about 20 miles from waco, texas. first responders are coming in from all over the region. one thing that the gentleman in the press conference did say is that they do not need any more first responders because hundreds of first responders have come to that area to try to assist in this effort. they are going door to door again to try to identify those that may need help. residents are being told to stay inside at this time for two reasons. one, there are concerns about air quality because the fumes in the air, the smoke could potentially be toxic and they don't want people to come in contact with that. the other concern is for

secondary explosions. the official that we just heard from made the point that there are still "active ingredients" at that plant. presumably referring to dangerous elements that could lead to a secondary explosion. he also said that the plant is still 1340e8dering. and so there are a number of concerns, not just about treating those who have been injured and stabilizing the situation as it is but making sure that there are no further injuries in any potential secondary explosions that could occur. you're seeing here a nursing home, what's left of a nursing home. this building, we should note, was not involved in the blast itself. that is the force of the blast that damaged that building to that extent. i'd like to bring in charles hadlock now. nbc's charles hadlock is in west texas. charles, can you tell us about what you're seeing now in terms of that fire? you mentioned earlier that you could still see that it was burning. it's 1:00 a.m. eastern time. it happened around 8:00 p.m. eastern time. we're talking about hours and hours now. can you confirm that you are

still seeing fire burning? >> yeah, there's still a slight glow on the north part of town. can't really tell what it is. whether it's remnants of the plant or perhaps some other building that may be smoldering here. but as the state trooper mentioned, what they're concerned about now are lives. who may still be alive in that rubble. and that's what they're concentrating on right now. they are going house to house, block by block. what's left of it. to try to find any survivors. the state trooper did mention that all of the injured had been evacuated out of west. that's a good sign. but they're still worried about what they may find inside that debris zone very near the plant. and if you heard that troop er and sort of listened to him and saw in his eyes, he said he was there. he said he compared it to a war zone. he compared it to the murrah building. and it seemed like he wanted -- >> charles, i'm sorry to cut you off. we do have to go to a quick break. but you're absolutely right. that gentleman did seem very shaken as is the entire community after this tragedy. we're following the fertilizer

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breaking snuz out of the town of west, texas. initial estimates of hundreds of injured and estimates of fatalalities after a fertilizer explosion in the town of west, that's about 20 miles from waco, texas. at this time the fire reportedly continues to burn. it also did extensive damage to the surrounding area, damaging 75 to 100 buildings. we'll be right back with more on this developing breaking news story. [ male announcer ] why is kellogg's crunchy nut so delicious?

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breaking news out of west, texas. a fertilizer plant explosion in that town about 20 miles from waco. it's estimated that hundreds are injured and that there are in fact fatalities though we do not have confirmed numbers at this time. we've put up on the screen an emergency line. it's a special number that's available for family inquiries. 800-394-4947. if you are concerned about someone in that area, that number should be able to provide you with some information. this terrible explosion took place earlier this evening around 8:00 p.m. local time. the force of it was felt as far as 70 miles away. one motorist on the road said that it was strong enough to blow out her windshield and in fact it did extensive damage to the community. what you're looking at right now is not a building that was involved in the blast itself. that was a nursing home that was damaged by the force of that explosion. that building was completely evacuated. this is a field that emergency responders have set up to be able to triage the injured.

they are bringing individuals there. they have also sent a number of individuals to area hospitals including many in waco. hospitals are reporting that they have in fact received a number of patients, many seriously injured, and they are treating many for burn injuries. now, officials are asking people to stay indoors. those who have not been evacuated are asking to stay indoors for concerns of a possible secondary explosion and concerns that the air itself may be toxic and may not be safe. a number of people have in fact been evacuated because of those same concerns. officials are also going door to door trying to make sure that they locate anyone who needs help, any who are wounded in this explosion, and locate them at this time. we heard from a state official a short time ago. he was able to survey the damage at the plant. this gentleman seemed personally shaken up by what he had seen. he described the damage as "massive." he said it was just like iraq, just like the murray building in

oklahoma city. of course referring to the oklahoma city bombing. that just gives you an idea of the force of this blast. there is a concern about continuing damage. that state official said there are "still active ingredients," referring to potentially dangerous chemicals on scene. and that the fire is still burning. again, to recap, we do not have a firm number on injuries or fatalities. the earliest estimates are that there are hundreds of injuries. we don't have any estimate on fatalities. however, state officials did say that there are fatalities. now, i'd like to take a moment and listen in to kxas. it's our affiliate. and their continuing coverage of this. >> the epa records actually describe this facility as a pesticide producer. i asked him if there were any previous dpierz that he was aware of at this facility. he said as far as he knew, no. although we heard from another person out there in town earlier who said that they recall that there may be some sort of history there. again, this is something we'll have to sort out in the morning

when we're able to look more closely at the records and talk to officials out there. i asked him if he had any other ideas as to what would have caused this and he said there's really nothing i can say right now, i don't have anything more to add to that. brian and amanda? >> scott, what kinds of records are kept on facilities like this? >> well, the epa typically, you know, tracks the kinds of chemicals that are there. the state also has a program through the department of health that chemicals that are kept on a property like that. and also in local areas the local fire department, the fire marshal's office will go through and inspect a facility like that. so there are a number of agencies that come in contact with a company like this and keep track of the items on the property. and they obviously want to know for firefighters responding to the property what's in there so they know what they're dealing with when they go up to approach the building if there's a fire. the other reason for some of the epa records is they keep track of the chemicals to know if things are released from the

plant. you know, in an incident like this what impact that could have on the environment, people in the area, that sort of thing. >> scott, real quick, i know when you were talking to what you believe is the owner's son there, he said we simply don't know what happened. obviously, about the blast they have no idea what happened. but did he give you any indication at all why firefighters were there in the first place? because obviously there had been a fire there burning for some time. >> he did not seem to know the details on that. he just indicated that he knew that firefighters had responded, you know, there to the plant for some reason. and as far as he knew, they were the only people who would have been in there at the time that the explosion happened. >> i'm just curious, shock, did he seem shaken or upset at this point? >> he did. there was certainly an urgency to his voice, brian. i would say that. >> scott friedman, our investigative reporter, already on the case tonight. scott, i know you'll be working this tomorrow. thanks for your help tonight. we appreciate it. >> all right. as we take another look at some of the images that have been coming in tonight.

again, we cannot bring you live images from the air over there because they have forced helicopters out of that area just to be on the safe side. but this is not the initial plant that exploded because it caused so many fires surrounding areas, you know, blast site around there, this is just one of the many buildings that caught fire. 75 to 100 businesses and homes possibly destroyed in this blast. >> in my mind the most compelling pictures we received tonight were the home videos that came in from our viewers. guys, if we have that, can we show that again? because that tells the story, the power of what we're talking about here. a couple of viewers sent us some extraordinary pieces of video. they were obviously shooting the fire at the fertilizer plant when the explosion happened. >> and we kind of want to warn you before we show you this next one here, this is a child and their father, like brian said, who were shooting the fire and then this is what they saw.

it's a little disturbing, but it is very powerful and we want to show it to you. >> are you okay? >> yeah. >> you're okay? >> i can't hear. i can't hear. please get out of here. please get out of here. >> oh, my god. >> please get out of here. dad, can we just get out of here? i can't hear. i can't hear anything. >> oh, my god. >> dad? >> it is so hard to watch that. you hear the panic in that child's voice saying "daddy, i cannot hear. please get out of here." and it almost -- i mean, they had their window down, but you can only imagine if the window had been rolled up that it would have been shattered. because of the blast. you can see, it you can feel, it you see the camera shake, you see their legs there for a second. and it is just horrifying to imagine the people that were closer to that blast. >> and we believe the folks who

shot this video, by the way, are okay. they are safe tonight. but there you see the force of that explosion. and once again, we are talking about the same kinds of materials that were used in the oklahoma city bombing. and we saw the devastation from that. so when the sun comes up in the morning, we're very fearful about what we see. this is what we've been looking at all night. >> we're listening to continuing coverage of this developing news story. a large plant explosion at a fertilizer plant near waco, texas. that was our affiliate kxas. a short time ago we heard from texas public safety official d.l. wilson on the latest on the story. let's listen to what he had to say. >> massive. just like iraq. just like the murray building in oklahoma city. same kind of anhydrous exploded. so you can imagine what kind of damage we're looking at out there. i know there was at least 50 to 75 houses damaged. there was an apartment complex

that has about 50 units in it that was completely just a skeleton standing up. >> again, that was texas public safety official d.l. wilson describing the extent of the damage that he witnessed when he surveyed the conditions at that plant. initial reports are that hundreds have been injured in this explosion. officials. officials are not able to provide numbers of fatalities but they are quite certain there are fatalities. as we heard from that gentleman, 50 to 75 homes destroyed. officials continuing to go door to door searching for the injured. and we will stay on this developing story as it continues to unfold out of texas. we've reduced taxes and lowered costs to save businesses more than two billion dollars to grow jobs, cut middle class income taxes to the lowest rate in sixty years, and we're creating tax free zones for business startups. the new new york is working creating tens of thousands of new businesses,

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the town of west, texas about 20 miles from waco. early estimates are that hundreds have been injured in a massive fertilizer plant explosion. we do not have any early estimates on the number of fatalities, but state officials say that they are certain that there will in fact be fatalities when the tally of all of this is calculated. in addition to the human toll, an estimated 75 to 100 buildings in the surrounding area damaged or destroyed by that blast. a number of residents have been evacuated for concerns about a secondary blast and also concerns about toxic fumes in the air. we'll be right back with the very latest on this developing news story. one...

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i'm here in your home, having a pretty spectacular tuesday. ♪ but i don't notice the loose rug at the top of your stairs. and that's about to become an issue for me. ♪ and if you got the wrong home insurance coverage, my medical bills could get expensive. so get allstate. [ dennis ] good hands. good home. make sure you have the right home protection. talk to an allstate agent. i'm mara schiavocampo with breaking news out of the town of west texas about 20 miles from waco, texas. a fertilizer plant explosion

earlier this evening has reportedly injured hundreds. we don't have a number of fatalities, but officials have confirmed that there are in fact fatalities. the force of that blast could be felt as far as 70 miles away. we do have some new information coming in. governor rick perry has reported that he has "mobilized state resources to help local authorities" and that they are monitoring developments and gathering information as details continue to emerge about this incident. that plant was already on fire prior to the explosion this evening when the explosion happened. a texas department of public safety official says "the fertilizer plant was on fire. firefighters were on the scene. there was an explosion followed by a second explosion. of course the fact that firefighters were on scene responding to that fire when the explosion took place has raised a number of concerns about their safety and well-being. now, aside from the human toll, the damage is also felt all throughout the community.

officials are estimating that up to 100 homes and buildings have been damaged or destroyed in this small community of about 2,800. that would account for a very large portion of that area. officials are now going door to door trying to account for anyone who may be trapped, injured, or in need of any kind of assistance. we do have some new sound from a survivor of that blast, someone who was there at the time and who was injured. let's take a listen. >> just a major, major explosion. the windows came in on me, the roof came in on me, the ceiling came. and i worked my way out to go get some more help. of course we lost all communication because the power went out. the station is badly damaged. the whole 1500 block of stillmeadow, which is the closest street to it. my son lives there.

luckily, he was on the second floor. when he fell down. it would have fallen on him. that whole street is gone. >> that whole street is gone. of course, that man visibly injured in this explosion. but thankfully not to the point where he was unconscious or more seriously injured. now, again, in addition to the human toll of this forceful powerful fertilizer plant explosion there is substantial damage to the community. officials have also shut down i-35. that is the main interstate going into and out of west. they're also asking those who have not been evacuated to stay indoors because they want to make sure that they do not come in contact with potentially tox toxic fumes. there is also a concern about secondary explosions. here is a summary of what we know. that there was at least one explosion at that fertilizer plant. a texas public safety official saying there could have been perhaps more than one. an estimate that there are hundreds that have been injured in this blast, at least 100.

officials are not giving a number of fatalities but they are saying that they are sadly confident that there are fatalities. a nursing home, schools, and several homes have been damaged. estimates are that up to 100 buildings in that surrounding area have been damaged by this blast. and again, the force of it felt up to 70 miles away. officials are not only concerned about stabilizing the situation as it is now and getting everyone the treatment that they need, but they are also still concerned about the potential for more explosions. one official said there are still "active ingredients" on the scene and that they are concerned about more explosions. i want to bring in nbc news's charles hadlock at this time. he is live in west, texas. he joins us now on the phone. charles, are you seeing anything new, anything different, any developments on the ground there? >> it's a lot more quiet here in town. apparently, they're enforcing road blocks now. and as you heard the state trooper mention a while ago,

that no more first responders are needed here, so they can turn around and go back to where they came from. the help is much appreciated but enough help is on the ground now that they can cover the six-block area that apparently was flattened by this explosion earlier today at this anhydrous ammonia plant. >> and that same official compared the scene to something, he said it was just like iraq and just like the oklahoma city bombing just to give our viewers some idea of the extent of this damage. >> it's not the first anhydrous ammonia explosion in texas. back on april 16th of 1947, the worst industrial accident in u.s. history occurred at texas when very much like today a fire broke out on a ship containing anhydrous ammonia. firefighters were called to the scene. spectators came and gathered, started taking pictures of the burning ship. but right next door was another ship loaded with anhydrous ammonia and it exploded.

and that killed thousands of people in texas city. it blue airplanes out of the sky. it blew tanks miles away. it was the worst industrial accident in the last century. another reminder of just how powerful and dangerous anhydrous ammonia can be in certain conditions such as a fire. >> and of course you mentioned in that previous incident, the historic one you that mentioned, that a number of aircraft were affected by that. and as a result of that out of an abundance of precaution officials have in fact ground -- or issued a no-fly zone, rather, in that area to keep helicopters and aircraft away. what can you tell us about the first responders on the scene. are they able to get access to the scene with the road blocks and with the severe damage that's been done to the community? >> right now we can see first responders going in and out of the roadblock area.

apparently, they're offering relief to the crews that are there, perhaps more sophisticated equipment than this county has. as you mentioned the firefighters from as far away as dallas and fort worth are here helping with this disaster. they've got to race the clock too. there's a cold front moving through, a very powerful one and ahead of that a very powerful storm. it's a windy night here in west texas. and between 6:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. tomorrow we're expecting heavy thunderstorms here. they're trying to get as much work as they can before those storms come in. >> earlier you were able to see some kind of fire still burning. what are you seeing in terms of any continuing flames? >> i see a slight glow to the north. but i can't tell exactly what it is. the state troopers said they're not worried about fires right now, they're just concerned about catching up with survivors who may be somewhere in the rubble of those blocks of city streets. >> we should tell you in the videos we've seen, these homes,

these buildings are not ones that were involved in the direct blast. these are ones in the surrounding area. we're seeing buildings on fire. we've seen a lot of video of buildings severely damaged. and again it gives you a lot of perspective as to the force of this explosion and this blast that it affected such a wide radius. the estimate is that it affected a five-mile radius. and charles, that's in terms of damage and destruction. as we go to break, you felt this about 60 miles away, correct? >> yes, i was in kaufman county about five minutes before 8:00, which would be about ten minutes after this explosion happened. the building i was in rumbled at the time it was fire and wind. now we know exactly what it was. >> we're going to hop to a break. we'll have more on this story on the other side. stay with us. about marriage. children. money. about tomorrow. here's to good decisions. who matters most to you says the most about you.

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has injured an estimated 100 people, perhaps more. we do not have numbers of

fatalities. although officials are saying that there will in fact be fatalities. i'm joined now by kxas reporter ben russell, who is on the scene live in west texas. ben, what can you tell us about what you've seen tonight and what's happening there? >> reporter: i can tell you a lot has changed since we first arrived here. perhaps around 9:00 central time. we are now about the better part of a mile away from where this incident happened. we are at the command center. this city you see here, the city of waco police department, this is where all the major decisions are being made. that's why we're in this area. the situation going on still at this time is again perhaps bay mile away from me. i don't know if you can make it out. there are some large bright lights you see there. that's the west high school football field. that's the area where they were triaging patients in this area. the area where this fertilizer plant was is just north of that. what we have seen when we were in that area before we were moved here, we saw buildings on fire. they appeared to be barns, not homes, though we understand

homes have been impacted in this five-block estimated area that was impacted by the blast. we saw aluminum from what appeared to be silos lying on top of cars. perhaps hundreds of yards away from where it had been. this blast was massive. and i can tell you, mara, i just want to direct your attention to what they've been telling us is one of their main concerns as this evening and now morning moves forward. we see the american flag up there. you see the wind. the wind is blowing that flag toward the north. what we've been told at this point and what i've heard you say as well is that people who live north of this plant and this five-block area are asked to stay inside right now because of these chemicals, which are obviously flammable. they don't yet know exactly what the air quality is here. so they're asking people who may be north of that, as we see the wind blowing, to stay inside until they get a better handle of what exactly it is they may be dealing with. there are still a lot of major questions to be answered about what's happened and what is still happening as we speak. >> and ben, being there on the ground, have you heard anything

from officials about the nature of injuries, their severity, the kind of injuries they're seeing. we know, we've heard there are hundreds of injured but in terms of the nature of the injuries are you hearing anything at all about that? >> reporter: as far as specifics of types of injuries, i can't say for sure, mara. this is what we know. we know there was a fire at this plant at some point. perhaps as much as half an hour before the estimated 7:00 central time explosion. so primarily the first people who would have been hurt in this situation were those firefighters. we understand there were perhaps six or so of them in that area. there are homes. there was a nursing home. there are some farms in this five-block impacted area. we understand a lot of people were in their homes. so for them to have been seriously hurt by this, again, i saw buildings that were no more, simply burning to the ground with no one in the immediate area trying to put them out. they were all focused on that blast zone, on that chemical plant. so at this point i cannot characterize because no one here is characterizing exactly what those injuries are, but we do know as you had said that number

is somewhere at this point estimated to be around 100. >> and how concerned are officials about more explosions? we heard from a texas state official that there are "still active ingredients" at the plant presumably referring to dangerous elements. what's the threat level, the continuing threat level here? >> reporter: it's here. the threat is here. we've been told that the fire's under control, but it's smoldering at this point, but that the potential ability for there to be more explosions is still very real. that is why at this point they are letting the fire smolder, they're not sending any more emergency personnel into the immediate scene. all they're doing at this point is going door to door and buildings that are left in the area around it trying to make sure they've perhaps accounted for everyone. but because of that threat perhaps of continued explosions there they're not going to risk any more human life. they tell us they're going to simply let that situation perhaps take care of itself. >> all right. ben russ well affiliate kxas. thank you very much for that report. we'll check in with you a little bit later. again, we are following breaking news out of the town of west

texas. it's about 20 miles from waco. a small community that this evening suffered a very big tragedy. a massive fertilizer plant explosion. early estimates are that hundreds have been injured and that there are fatalities. at this time we do not have a number. we also don't know about the potential causes of this. of course, a fertilizer plant contains a number of elements that could lead to an explosion like this, but we don't have any specific information as to what led to this particular tragedy. at this time we are learning some information about the resources being provided to the state. governor rick perry says, this is a quote, "we have mobilized state resources to help local authorities. we have also learned that the obama administration has been briefed on everything that's happening and they are continuing to monitor this to see what resources may be necessary through fema." they would be administered there. again, following this breaking news out of texas, hundreds injured and certainly

fatalities. also a number of homes and businesses damaged. essentially an entire community affected by a massive plant explosion that occurred earlier this evening. we're going to continue following this. please stay with us. ed security, we consider ourselves business optimizers. how? by building custom security solutions that integrate video, access control, fire and intrusion protection. all backed up with world-class monitoring centers, thousands of qualified technicians, and a personal passion to help protect your business. when your business is optimized like that, there's no stopping you. we are tyco integrated security. and we are sharper. mr. wiggles and curling irons. for the little mishaps you feel, use neosporin to help you heal. it kills germs so you heal four days faster neosporin. also try neosporin eczema essentials. honey... it's time to go. no. honey, it's too perfect.

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to hear from some of those who survived this explosion. let's listen to one man and his experience. >> just a major, major explosion. windows came in on me. the roof came in on me. the the roof came in on me, the ceiling came in. i worked my way out to go get some more help. of course we lost all communication because the power went out. the whole street is gone. >> we'll be right back. both tylenol and bayer advanced aspirin

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a fertilizer plant explosion more powerful than a 2.1 magnitude earthquake, according to the u.s. geological survey. they're saying that explosion that occurred earlier this evening registered as a 2.1 magnitude earthquake but that's a low-ball estimate of the explosion. that does not take into account the airwaves. that only measures ground waves. the force of that blast damaged the surrounding community extensively, up to 100 homes and businesses either damaged or completely destroyed. and then of course there is the human toll, estimates that hundreds have been injured. officials are confirming that there are fatalities, however, they are not providing a number at this time, either because they don't know or they're not prepared to share that information. earlier this evening we heard from texas public safety official d.l. wilson. he provided with the latest information that officials are sharing at this time. let's listen to what he had to

say. >> first of all, we'd like our thoughts and prayers to go out to all the community around here in west. it's a small farming community. we've always opened our arms to everybody that passes through here on i-35. they're in our hearts and prayers for this unbelievable tragedy that's happened here tonight. what we're looking at now, we've got the gas companies turning all the gas off to the areas where the explosion happened. we do not need anymore help. get that out right now. firefighters are coming from hundreds of miles to help us. right now we are overflowing with help. tomorrow morning the mayor is going to speak again. right now we have a tremendous amount of injuries, probably over a hundred injuries at this time. at this time we do have confirmed fatalities. the number is not confirmed yet.

it could go up by the minute. we're in there searching the area right now and making sure it's safe for any of the other people that are around there and the firefighters are trying to be safe and go back in. there's a lot of the wind blowing and area has are smoking and little small flames. they don't want to get the firefighters hurt or injured inside the blast area. i can tell you i was there, i walked through the blast area, i searched some houses earlier tonight, massive. just like iraq. just like the murrah building in oklahoma city. same kind of anhydrous exploded so you can imagine what kind of damage we're looking at there. i know there was at least 75 -- 50 to 75 houses damaged. there's an apartment complex that has about 50 units in it that was completed a skeleton standing up. there's a nursing home in the area that 133 people in the

nursing home. we've got that evacuated. i don't know what their injuries are there right now, but all injuries have been removed from the scene and taken to local hospitals in the waco area. we have numerous agencies helping us all the way from the dallas fort worth area, all the surrounding areas. we've had a great turnout to come out to help to us get through this tragedy that we had in this small community. i wish i could give you more information. all the injured right now have been taken care of. we're going to go back in and do another house-by-house search and see if any other victims are in the houses. that's going to be going on all night. we have a command post set up for law enforcement, we have a command most set up for emergency units and we have a triage center right over here. >> what's the status of the plant right now? >> it's still smoldering.

right now they cannot give us any update on it but it is smoldering still and there still is active, you know, other ingredients there on the facility. so we don't want that to explode again. but right now we cannot get firefighters in there. we're worried about people right now, not property. we want people to be safe. that's our main goal right now is get the people safe and get them out. >> reporter: do you have a rough number on the number of lives lost? >> i do not know right now. it's going to be a number. you know, i can't give you a number right now but there is going to be a number out there. hopefully at 6:00 a.m. we'll know that. >> early estimates are 50 to 60, 70 maybe? >> i cannot confirm that. i wish i could tell you something but i do not have that number. >> is this fire under control? >> firefighters are not fighting the fire right now. so it's still smoldering a little bit. there's not any large flames but they're in the area, they cannot get close to it due to the toxic

fumes that are coming out to it right now. >> is there a danger of fumes around the plant? >> there is. they've cleared the area, about a ten-block area. half of that town over there is totally evacuated. what we're worried about now is we're supposed to have a northern come through tonight. when that north wind changes, we night have to evacuate on the other side. >> that was texas public safety official d.l. wilson earlier this evening providing information about that fertilizer plant explosion, the one that the usgs is now saying registered 2.1, it was the equivalent of a 2.1 magnitude earthquake and that only accounts for the ground waves, it does not account for airwaves. the usgs was saying the force of that blast is in fact more powerful than a 2.1 earthquake. charles, as you mentioned earlier, there are some current concerns about the weather and