UPDATE (6/14): “Louisiana State Police say Scott Thrower, 47, from St. Amant passed away around 1 p.m.” –WAFB

UPDATE: “Officials with the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) reports that 73 people were injured and one person died in a Thursday morning plant explosion in Geismar, La.”

Bad news from the bayou this morning as emergency responders are on the scene of an explosion that occurred at a Louisiana chemical plant. Numerous reports are rolling in, each with varying injury numbers though luckily there are no fatalities. The explosion took place nearly two months after the devastating combustion of a Waco, TX fertilizer plant where at least 15 were killed. The latest photos are available above.

CNN is currently reporting that local news station “WAFB identified the facility as the Williams Olefins plant, which produces approximately 1.3 billion pounds of ethylene and 90 million pounds of polymer-grade propylene each year, according to the company’s website.”

The plant is located roughly 60 miles northwest of New Orleans, or about 30 miles southeast of capital city Baton Rouge.


 

Injuries and fatalities are still in question as CNN reports at least 7 injured, NBC at least 25 injured, and The Daily Beast no injuries. Estimating numbers like this can prove to be questionable in practice as times of duress cause utter confusion. The heartbreaking Tornado disasters in Oklahoma recently show how difficult and distressful it can be to estimate as the death toll rose sharply only to fall abruptly when some of the deceased were counted more than once.

Fire officials in nearby Gonzales, La., told NBC News that its fire chief and district fire chief are on the scene in Geismar. They have not yet heard of any injuries, the Gonzales officials said.

Currently authorities are on the scene, as well as medical aid, and have evacuated the nearby area and as much of the chemical plant as possible.

There’s been no definitive cause of the explosion as of yet, though CBS is currently reporting that a fire broke out early this morning and is likely the trigger for the outburst since propylene is a highly-flammable substance.

Stay tuned to BostInno to learn the latest from Louisiana as we’ll be sure to keep you informed as information continues to roll in.


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