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At least one person was killed and others are unaccounted for after an implosion at a manufacturing plant in southwestern Washington, officials said Tuesday.
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Local law enforcement, fire department and company officials said in a joint statement that a tank containing white liquor, a chemical used in the paper-pulping process, ruptured early Tuesday at Nippon Dynawave Packaging in Longview.
At least nine others, including a firefighter, were injured. The severity of the injuries ranged from minor to critical, officials said. Some victims had burns or inhalation injuries.
The Longview Fire Department said Tuesday evening that there was still liquid in a collapsed tank, which was complicating attempts to reach people inside the plant.
“The tank remains unstable, creating hazardous conditions for emergency personnel,” the fire department said in a statement. “Responders are continuing efforts to structurally reinforce and stabilize the site before additional recovery operations can safely proceed.”
Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson expressed condolences for the reported casualties on social media and said responders from the state Ecology Department had been deployed to the scene.
“I’m deeply saddened to hear that there have been fatalities. My thoughts are with the workers and their families, and with the first responders,” Ferguson said.
Eli Bernal said his father Gilbert Bernal, 52, was killed at the plant, where they both worked.
The family’s pastor, Jim John, said that Eli was working at the security gate at the Longview facility during the implosion.
“He was escorting all the ambulances in through the gate knowing his father was in there,” John said.
Patients were taken to area hospitals in Longview and Vancouver for treatment, according to the statement.
PeaceHealth St. John Medical Center said it received nine patients after the blast, including one person who did not survive and six others who are in fair condition.
“There are also individuals who remain unaccounted for as crews continue the accountability and recovery operations. One firefighter also was injured during the response, and he has since been treated and released at our Longview hospital,” Mike Gorsuch, battalion chief for the Longview Fire Department, said at a news conference Tuesday afternoon.
Officials advised that there is no immediate threat to the surrounding community but urged people to stay away from the plant.
A Washington representative for the Association of Washington Pulp and Paper Workers union said he was with workers’ families but declined to comment.
The union said in a statement that its immediate concern is “focused on affected workers, their families, emergency responders, and everyone impacted by this tragedy.”
White liquor, which is used in the paper-making process, contains sodium hydroxide, sodium sulfide and disodium carbonate, Cowlitz County Fire Chief Scott Goldstein said.
The company’s website says that Nippon Dynawave Packaging is a subsidiary of Nippon Paper Group and that its Longview facility has been making liquid packaging board since 1953.
The facility, which employs about 1,000 people, makes material for tissues, printing paper, cups, plates, cartons and other goods. The board is used for milk cartons and food containers, among other things.
The company said on its site that it also provides “high quality market pulp” used in pet pads, toilet paper and tissues, printer papers, wrapping paper and more.
The plant is in an industrial zone shared by other timber, paper and chemical businesses, and it remains central to the community.
Suzanne Gamboa is a national reporter for NBC News.
Colin Sheeley is a senior reporter for NBC News’ Social Newsgathering team based in New York.
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