11 confirmed dead after chemical explosion at Washington paper mill

Eleven people are confirmed to have been killed in a chemical explosion at a paper mill in Washington state, USA, on Tuesday 26 May.

The explosion, which occurred at 07:15 PDT at the Nippon Dynawave Packaging facility in Longview, 210km south of Seattle, happened due a "rupture of a tank containing white liquor", the company said in a statement. White liquor is a highly corrosive chemical used in the paper-making process.

While investigators originally believed the tank contained about 80,000 gallons (300,000 litres) of white liquor, officials later said it held approximately 900,000 gallons (3,406,000 litres). Shortly after the incident, the fire department said that about 90,000 gallons (340,000 litres) may remain inside the damaged tank.

Washington governor Bob Ferguson called it "the deadliest industrial tragedy in modern Washington state history", while officials have confirmed they have found the remains and identified all the workers missing since the explosion.The final death toll from the incident stands at 11.

The US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board said it would begin an investigation into the implosion after the recovery efforts are concluded, and officials have said that some of the white liquor had made its way into the Columbia River and they have received reports of dead fish near the site’s spillways.

The Washington State Department of Ecology and the US Environmental Protection Agency were monitoring air and water quality and working to assess any other environmental impacts.