A second explosion has occurred at the TPC Plant in Port Neches, Texas as horror footage shows parts of a distillations column falling from the sky. The fire has been raging at the plant for the past two days. The explosion rocked houses 30 miles away, according to MailOnline.
A mandatory evacuation has been put into effect for Port Neches and Groves.
According to KHOU reporter, police have said more explosions are expected.
Three people were injured in the initial explosion.
The city, which is east of Houston and just inland from the Gulf of Mexico, was struck by fear that toxic smoke or dangerous gases were wafting from the plant.
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Witnesses described yesterday’s blast as “feeling like a bomb”.
TJ Teddlie said: “After the first explosion, there was a second, smaller, explosion.
“The first explosion, I’ve been told could be felt into Port Arther. It was the TPC plant off Highway 366.”
The blast turned the sky orange and was captured on CCTV from homes in the area around the plant, which is just west of Texas.
The 22-year-old added: “I was packing for a trip tomorrow when I heard the bang. When I looked up I saw a bright flash and then watched all the doors and glass explode.
“I immediately grabbed my younger brother and genuinely thought someone had bombed the area or something.”
Julizza Sanders, who fled her home close to the plant, said she was in bed when she heard what sounded like a lorry hurtling towards her flat.
She told Mirror Online: “The sound got closer and as it got closer the ground started to shake. Then the entire building shook followed by a loud explosion sounding like thunder but much louder, mixed with a sound of an automobile crash.
“We jumped out of bed after the shaking stopped and realised that the sound we heard and thought was a crash was actually the sound of our front window shattering.