Chemical tank rupture kills multiple people in US state of Washington

Several injured people have been transported to hospitals to be treated for chemical burns.A chemical tank has imploded at a Nippon Dynawave Packaging facility in the US state of Washington, killing several people and critically injuring others, authorities said.Emergency responders on Tuesday remained at the site in the city of Longview in Cowlitz County, about 70km (45 miles) north of Portland, Oregon, the Longview-fire-department" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="134729" data-entity-type="organization">Longview Fire Department said in a joint written statement with Nippon and the Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Department.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Failing chemical tank forces thousands to evacuate in Southern Californialist 2 of 3Projectile hits near Iran’s Bushehr nuclear plant, killing one: IAEAlist 3 of 3‘Environmental disaster’: Ukrainian attacks on oil refineries rock Russiaend of listMultiple patients who suffered from chemical burns and other injuries were transported to nearby hospitals. Authorities said the implosion posed “no immediate threat to the surrounding community”.The statement said that officials “can confirm fatalities related to the incident” along with “multiple critical injuries”, but did not provide figures.At least nine workers and one firefighter were taken to hospitals from the site, said Scott Goldstein, the Cowlitz 2 Fire and Rescue chief who was among those who responded. The number of deaths was “undetermined”, he said at a news conference.PeaceHealth St John Medical Center in Longview told ABC News it had seen nine patients related to the incident, including one who had died. Six of the patients were in fair condition, and two other patients had been transferred to other facilities, the hospital told ABC.The joint statement said that a tank containing “white liquor”, a chemical solution of sodium hydroxide and sodium sulfide used in the production of paper pulp, had ruptured at about 7:15am local time (14:15 GMT).