The deadly explosion of a fertilizer plant rippled through this quiet Texas town with the force of an earthquake, leaving behind shattered homes, mounds of debris and unanswered questions.
As rescuers near the epicenter of the blast searched for survivors, residents struggled to come to grips with the disaster, which flattened much of the tiny town of West, claiming up to 15 lives and leaving dozens homeless.
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| Search and rescue workers comb through what remains of a 50-unit apartment building the day after an explosion at the West Fertilizer Company in West, Texas, April 18, 2013. |
A huge chunk of twisted metal lay in a corn field, near crushed storage tanks and houses with peaked roofs sheared off by the blast, which had caused a massive fireball and generated tremors felt 50 miles (80 kilometers) away.