An implosion at a Washington State paper facility has killed two people, with nine people still missing. Photo courtesy Longview Fire Department/Facebook
May 27 (UPI) -- Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson said Wednesday that the state expects a paper mill implosion Tuesday in Longview to be "the deadliest tragedy in modern Washington state history."
"When you have a tragedy of that scale, the impacts on individuals, on families, and on communities is profound," Ferguson said.
Officials confirmed a second death in the incident Wednesday,and nine people are still missing. Eight people were injured in the implosion, with seven remaining in local hospitals.
The accident, an implosion of a 900,000-gallon chemical tank, took place Tuesday morning at Nippon Dynawave Packaging in southwest Washington. The first death confirmed was that of Gilbert Bernal, 52, NBC News reported, and the second death was that of someone transported from the plant to a hospital after the implosion.
