The explosion is the latest in a series of accidents along the Texas Gulf Coast, home to the highest concentration of oil refineries in the U.S.
Officials lifted evacuation orders Friday for about 50,000 people on the Texas Gulf Coast, determining a massive fire was finally under control at a chemical plant rocked by two major explosions two days earlier.
The explosions began early Wednesday morning and were so big that nearby homes captured the bright balls of fire on front-porch security cameras. The blasts shattered windows and ripped doors off hinges. Three workers were injured, and when a second blast erupted 13 hours after the initial overnight explosion, evacuation orders covered a four-mile radius around the plant took effect.
“There’s still going to be smoke in the air. There’s still going to be flames visible at night,” said Troy Monk, the director of health safety and security for the TPC Group. “I would love to tell you we’re going to be done by the end of the day. I would not be telling you the truth if I made that statement. It’s very difficult for us to quantify in days how long this is going to take.
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