Multiple explosions and fires occurred at the Dow Chemical Plant in Plaquemine, Louisiana, late Friday night.
Iberville Parish Sheriff Brett Stassi revealed to local news station WBRZ that six distinct explosions were detected at the plant around 9:30 p.m. on Friday. Witnesses from the surrounding areas managed to capture videos of massive flames and reported feeling the shockwave from the powerful blasts.
WATCH:
🚨#BREAKING: Massive explosion reported at the Dow Chemical Plant
There has been a massive explosion at the Dow Chemical Plant in Plaquemine, Louisiana. Emergency crews and other agencies are currently responding to the situation. Officials are… pic.twitter.com/YVMkxz6SzU
— R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) July 15, 2023
Six fiery explosions at a chemical plant lit up the skyline near Louisiana’s capital. The blasts happened late Friday at the Dow Chemical Facility. The company says it has not detected hazardous materials in the air. pic.twitter.com/R6308Ro33z
— CBS Saturday Morning (@cbssaturday) July 15, 2023
Dow Chemical plant officials have confirmed that all employees have been accounted for, and no injuries were reported. Emergency response teams and firefighters had the flames under control by around 11 p.m. on Friday.
“Dow’s Emergency Operations Center is working closely with local and state agencies to respond to the incident on our Louisiana Operations site. All personnel are safe and accounted for. Air monitoring has not detected hazardous materials in the air,” Dow Louisiana Operations said.
Officials shared that they were still working to determine the cause of the incident. A small flame was reported to be still burning at the facility on the morning of Saturday, July 15, according to WAFB.
Dow has informed Iberville Parish to end the shelter-in-place and to continue monitoring the air quality.
“Dow leaders have advised our office that it is safe to lift the shelter in place. Dows emergency services will continue to mitigate the fire,” according to the post from Iberville Parish early Saturday.
“Dow continues to conduct air monitoring along with LDEQ and a third party. All air monitoring has been non-detect,” the post added.
