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Thousands of cows died Thursday in an explosion at a dairy farm in Texas. The fire, the deadliest for livestock in state history, may have been caused by the “overheating” of a barn manure removal system.
Some 18,000 cows perished in the explosion of a dairy farm in Texas, in the southern United States, authorities announced Thursday, April 13, who also reported one person injured.
“This is the deadliest livestock farm fire in Texas history, and the investigation and cleanup may take time,” Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller said. , in a press release.
The explosion and fire ravaged, in the night from Monday to Tuesday, the Southfork dairy farm, located near the town of Dimmit, in the Texas region of the Panhandle.
Firefighters and police rushed to the scene “discovered that a person was trapped inside”. The farm worker was rescued and airlifted to a hospital, the Castro County Sheriff’s Office posted on Facebook.
The origin of the explosion and fire has not been determined, said Sid Miller, who called the event “terrible”.
“Overheating” of a manure removal system?
“As soon as we know the cause and the facts surrounding this tragedy, we will ensure that the public is fully informed, so that such disasters can be avoided in the future,” he added.
Castro County Sheriff Sal Rivera told CBS Amarillo that a barn manure system may have been “overheating.”
He added that the methane could “ignite and then spread with the explosion and the fire”, specifying that an investigation had been opened.
With AFP
