TEXAS CITY — Fourteen people were confirmed dead and more than 70 company employees were injured in an explosion at the BP refinery in Texas City Wednesday.
A large rescue and recovery effort continued into the night as crews looked for missing workers. The explosion occurred at 1:20 p.m.
Refinery manager Don Parus said the explosion occurred within BP’s isomerization unit, also known as the ISOM unit, which is used to increase the octane content of some fuel products. The cause of the blast is under investigation.
Parus would not release the names of those who were injured or killed. The company set up a hotline for BP employees and family members only to call for updates. The number is (409) 945-1400.
“It’s been a tough day,” Parus said while rubbing his forehead. “Words can’t express what we are feeling right now.”
BP spokesman Bill Stephens said it was possible the death toll could rise as crews continued the recovery process. He said the company was unable to account for all of its employees and that it was likely that the count would not be complete until today.
The death toll is the largest industrial accident in the area since the Texas City Disaster, when two ships exploded in the harbor in April 1947. The estimated death toll was 600.
‘I COULD FEEL IT IN MY CHEST’
Carrie Vyvial, who works in BP’s drawing control center, was in her office in the refinery’s administration building when the explosion occurred.
“It was really loud,” Vyvial said. “I could feel it in my chest. It felt like the roof was going to cave in or something. Some pictures fell off the walls. (The blast) sounded like really loud thunder. Everyone ran to the window to see what happened.”
Vyvial described the black plume of smoke that rose above the refinery as “the scariest thing I have ever seen.”
She said all employees were ordered to shelter in place and remain in the building until the all-clear order was given. That meant more than two hours inside the building while BP’s fire crews worked to douse the blaze.
Area hospitals were inundated with patients from the refinery as well as from the surrounding community. Hospital officials could not confirm how many patients were BP employees or neighbors of the refinery.
SIREN SYSTEM ACTIVATED
Texas City assistant emergency management coordinator George Fuller said the city’s emergency siren system was activated at 1:28 p.m. after emergency officials were able to confirm an explosion at the BP refinery.
City emergency management officials, who also issued a shelter-in-place order for the city, declared the explosion a Level 3 incident. The shelter-in-place order was lifted just after 2 p.m., said Fuller.
Emergency vehicles from across the region responded to the emergency. Many ambulances were stationed at the main entrance to the refinery.
Stephens praised the efforts of the refinery’s fire teams to get the fire out quickly, allowing the rescue and recovery efforts to begin around 3:30 p.m.
Officials with the county health district said they were monitoring the smoke and fumes but had no indication “anything extremely toxic” had been released.
The explosion rattled houses, shook residents and sent shockwaves of panic throughout the county. The blast could be felt as far away as Hitchcock and Galveston. The plume of black smoke was seen across the Houston-Galveston region.
RATTLED NERVES
Even in a town that has grown accustomed to incidents at the petrochemical plants, Wednesday’s explosion rattled plenty of nerves in Texas City.
Many residents who live near the BP plant were away from home or at work when the explosion occurred. A few stunned pedestrians lined the streets to gape at the blaze.
Others, however, were not so lucky.
Keissha McFarland was baby-sitting at the home of her friend Wallace Christian in the 3200 block of Second Avenue when the blast blew in the house’s front windows.
“The plant just blew up, and the windows got blown in on her,” Christian said. “She got exposed to whatever it is in the air, and she said she started feeling sick and throwing up. The ambulance just took her to Mainland Medical Center.”
Others in the area were uninjured by the blast and fumes but felt sick nonetheless.
“It’s really scary, especially when you know people who are working out there,” said Leesa Horne, who works in the east end of BP’s facility. “Looking at it, I just know people got killed. It doesn’t look good at all.”
Horne had just returned home after her shift when she felt the explosion.
“I had just got home, and I thought our trash men had dropped one of the Dumpsters,” she said. “The whole house shook. I knew something had happened when my grandma called, and then everyone started calling, wanting to know if I was all right and if I knew anything.”
Horne said it appeared to her that the refinery could have burst into flames during a procedure known as a turnaround, in which a unit is shut down and restarted after adjustments are made, but conceded that she knew little more than other confused onlookers.
“I guess I just came out here to see what I could see,” she said.
COUNTY SHAKEN
The explosion shook windows, buildings and people for miles.
The blast knocked Texas City resident William Hudson off of his barstool. He was in the Texas City Tavern, within a quarter-mile of the BP plant. Hudson and others in the bar said they were worried, wondering whether people they knew had been caught in the explosion and fire.
“I’ve never felt a concussion like that, and I’ve worked around the plants for a long time, so I’ve been around for a lot of explosions,” he said.
Miles away, Texas City resident Nick Garza said he was worried about what could be in the clouds of smoke. “It’s a chance you live with every day, living here,” he said. “But it’s scary. For all I know, that stuff could be poison.”
Bayou Vista Police Chief Ed Lucas said he was inside police headquarters when he felt the blast.
“My first thought was that one of the fire trucks had been driven into the building,” he said. “That’s how big it was. But I went outside and saw the plume of smoke coming out of the ground.”
Gerry Resseque of Galveston was at the Kroger store on Palmer Highway in Texas City.
“The place stopped,” he said. “I thought maybe a big truck had hit the building.”
Resseque said a garden figurine on sale in the flower center fell on one shopper’s head and some ceiling tiles fell by the deli.
Melissa Abbott, the store’s manager, confirmed the tiles had been cleaned up but wouldn’t give details on the injured woman, saying only that she didn’t need medical treatment.
Meanwhile at the Texas City police station, which is also home to the city’s emergency operations center, the front desk faced a storm of phone calls from parents or friends worried about the explosion.
One woman called from Pasadena to ask if officers could check on her daughter, who lives near the plants. She kept getting a busy signal but kept calling. She didn’t know what else to do, the officer working the phone said.
THE INJURED
Scores of people from within BP’s Texas City refinery as well as the surrounding community were treated at area hospitals. Hospital officials were unable to confirm how many worked for the refinery and how many were community residents. The following is a count from the hospitals as of 8 p.m. Wednesday:
UTMB: 22 patients admitted — Three in critical condition, three in serious condition and 16 in fair condition.
Clear Lake Regional Medical Center: 120 seen, 45 treated and released, two admitted. The remainder of those taken to CLRMC are in process.
Mainland Medical Center: 59 patients admitted and reported in fair condition. In addition, one man was taken by helicopter to Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston. His condition was not known.
BP employees, family hotline: (409) 945-1400.
TIMELINE
1:20 p.m. — Explosion at BP’s Isomerization Unit.
1:28 p.m. — City emergency management officials issue a Level 3 and shelter-in-place alert; city warning sirens are set off.
2:10 p.m. — City lifts the shelter in place order; alert level lowered to a Level 2.
2:15 p.m. — City first responder units call for backups and additional ambulances from across the county.
3:22 p.m. — BP fire crews douse the fire.
3:30 p.m. — Rescue and recovery mission begins.
7 p.m. — BP officials confirm at least 14 dead and more than 70 company employees injured. They caution both totals could rise.
— T.J. Aulds, Daniel Huron, Nathan Smith, Scott Williams and Sarah Viren contributed to this story.
