An explosion and fire at a US dairy farm in the city Dimmitt, in northern Texas critically injured one person and killed around 18,000 cattle on April 10.
The Castro County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement that it responded to reports of an explosion and fire at the Southfork Dairy Farms, along with local fire departments, at around 19:20 local time. Upon arriving at the site, located around 11 miles outside of Dimmitt, it was determined that one person was trapped inside a barn. Fire crews were able to locate the person and remove them from the building, however they had suffered serious injuries and were flown to hospital.
All other employees were accounted for. Emergency crews stayed at the scene until after 23:00 by which time the fire had been extinguished. Footage taken from several miles away shows a large plume of dark smoke rising into the sky.
The cause of the explosion remains unknown, however it is considered likely the cause was equipment overheating. The incident is to be fully investigated by state fire officials.
An estimated 18,000 cattle are believed to have died as a result of the fire.
