josedias

Sergeant William Swanton, of the Waco, police department, has just been briefing the media.

He said that three to five firefighters are still missing, and repeats the estimate of five to 15 deaths. “There is a huge organization of mixed groups that are working together to find survivors, to find people who are injured,” he said.

Swanton, whose teams have been supporting the West authorities, said he did not know if anyone was still trepped. “I don’t know how many folks may still be trapped. They have not been able to give me much more on the damage than to say that there is a significant area around the fertilizer plant that has been destroyed.”

As for the fire at the plant, it has been brought under control and there are no chemical leask. “Last thing I heard about the fire at the fertilizer plant, it was slow burning,” he said.

Swanton said he did not know when people would be allowed back in the area.

He added that looters are a significant concern. “There are unidentified people in the area, there has been a small amount of looting, to my understanding, I can’t tell you the number of looters or if they have been caught.”

Swanton said the town of West is ”secure”.