Officials reported on Wednesday that two girls and several adults are still missing following a significant explosion at a biofuel factory in Nebraska. Firefighters are continuing to battle the flames and smoke that linger a day after the incident.
“My heart hurts,” expressed Fremont Mayor Joey Sperberg. “It’s a tragedy. We send our prayers to all the families affected.”
During a press conference, Sperberg mentioned that the two missing children may have accompanied their parents at work, as employees at Horizon Biofuels were leaving when the explosion occurred. While he didn’t disclose their ages, he noted they are both under 12. Currently, their identities have not been revealed.
The explosion, which happened around noon on Tuesday, severely damaged the plant, ripping apart the top of its tall tower and leaving concrete, rebar, and weathered metal scattered around. The structure’s roof and walls were heavily compromised.
Sperberg indicated that officials are evaluating the possibility of a complete collapse of the facility.
According to Carl Nielsen from the city’s volunteer fire department, this structural instability is hampering efforts to access the site for firefighting operations. Despite rain throughout the night, flames are still active.
“This is going to be a slow process,” he told reporters, mentioning that there’s no clear timeline for when they might be able to recover the missing individuals.
The facility, which processes wood waste into animal bedding and heating pellets, is suspected to house both wood and alcohol-based materials, according to Fire Chief Todd Berndt. A previous fire in 2014 had damaged the electrical systems but did not affect the structural integrity significantly, as noted by the Fremont Tribune.
Mayor Sperberg, along with investigators, suspects that wood dust in the elevator section of the plant could have triggered the explosion. “That’s the only theory that seems to fit,” he remarked. Horizon Biofuels has, apparently, been cooperative in the process, although they did not immediately respond to inquiries.
Local resident Taylor Kirklin, who lives about half a mile from the plant, described how her house shook from the blast. “I stood up and looked outside, and there was a huge plume of smoke,” she recounted, adding that it was difficult to determine the exact moment of the explosion given the number of people in the area.
Fire Chief Berndt recalled facing “heavy smoke and numerous flames” upon arriving at the site, which is surrounded by other manufacturing and food processing facilities.
Fremont is the sixth-largest city in Nebraska and is located about 32 miles northwest of Omaha.
