Deadly Explosion at Texas Fertilizer Plant

UPDATED | April 18, 8:15 a.m. PST: Overnight, rescue workers continued the search for survivors in the smoldering ruins of the West, Texas fertilizer plant. According to officials, as many as 15 people are feared dead and more than 160 others injured. 

Those believed to be dead include three to five volunteer firefighters and a law enforcement officer. 

The injured victims suffered from broken bones, bruises, lacerations, respiratory distress, some head injuries and minor burns. 

West Mayor Tommy Muska said that his city needs "your prayers." 

The explosion leveled a four-block area around the plant, destroying surrounding buildings including 75 homes, a 50-unit apartment complex, a nursing home and a middle school. 

Authorities have indicated that the fertilizer plant made materials similar to those used in the 1995 Oklahoma City Bombing. However, there has been no indication that the explosion was caused by anything but an industrial accident, Waco Police Sgt. William Patrick Swanton said. 

ORIGINAL | April 17, 10:00 p.m. PST: A huge explosion at a fertilizer plant in a small Texas community has left at least three people dead and more than 100 injured. The blazes have destroyed surrounding homes and buildings in West, Texas. The town of 2,600 people evacuated from the scene.

The explosion occurred around 18 miles north of Waco, Texas, at about 5:50 p.m. PST. Firefighters from all over the region have been battling the flames for hours, but there is an ongoing worry that another tank could explode. 

Reports say that people could feel the explosion up to 45 miles away. 

Since the flames are still blazing, there is very little information being released about the death toll, the number injured and the amount of damage caused. 

D.L. Wilson of the Texas Department of Public Safety said there will be a "tremendous amount of injuries." 

Wilson explained that that the plant is still smoldering and they aren't sending firefighters into the plant because there are dangerous "active ingredients" within the facility. 

But the focus is not on the buildings right now, but rather the safety of others.

'We are worried about people now, not property," Wilson said. 

"We are monitoring developments and gathering information as details continue to emerge about this incident," Texas Governor Rick Perry said in a statement. "We have also mobilized state resources to help local authorities. Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of West, and the first responders on the scene."

The Associated Press contributed to this story.