Twelve bodies were recovered and 60 people were unaccounted for Friday, two days after a fertilizer plant in a small Texas town exploded. Mayor Tommy Muska of West said 10 of the victims were firemen who were battling a blaze at the plant and were killed by the explosion Wednesday evening. The blast wave was felt 80 kilometres away, registered more than 2 magnitude on earthquake monitors and claimed the lives of at least two residents of nearby homes. Rescue teams were searching for survivors in the charred and destroyed homes. US Senator John Cornyn said 60 people were still unaccounted for, the Houston Chronicle reported. More than 160 injured people were taken to hospitals and more than 1,000 people had to be evacuated, including residents of a nearby nursing and retirement home, reports were quoted as saying by DPA. US President Barack Obama late Friday declared the area a disaster site and ordered federal aid. He reassured the community that its victims had not been overlooked despite the attention focused on the Boston Marathon bombings. "They are not forgotten," President Obama said. The explosion sent a 30-metre wide fireball into the sky when it ripped through the plant in the town of 2,800 inhabitants, about 100 kilometres south of Dallas.
