Crosby Plant Explosion Kills 1, Injures 2

CROSBY, TX — The explosion and fire that injured two people and killed one on Tuesday, has been extinguished, officials said.

Emergency crews in east Harris County responded at about 11:15 a.m. to reports of an explosion and fire at the KMCO processing plant. Crosby is located approximately 25 miles northeast of Houston.

Officials in the area reported hearing an explosion and seeing a plume of black smoke coming from the area of Crosby-Dayton Road and East Ramsey Road. A shelter-in-place order issued for a one-mile radius of the plant in Crosby has since been lifted.

Officials said two of the injured employees suffered burns to various parts of their body and were flown by Life Flight Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston. Both are listed in critical condition

An employee who was previously unaccounted for was found seriously injured and died from his injuries at the scene, officials confirmed.

According to the Harris County Sheriff's Office, a chemical called Isobutylen — a highly flammable substance — ignited in a transfer line ignited a tank containing Isobutylene.

Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez added that an adjacent storage building with solid goods also caught fire, and that firefighters were working to contain the blaze.

Meanwhile, deputies with the Harris County Sheriff's Office closed U.S. Highway 90 leading to and from the facility within minutes of learning of the incident.

Breaking: Chemical Plant Fire in East Harris County, off old Hwy 90. Shutting roadway now. Preliminary info: Two employees are possibly injured, unknown details. I’m enroute to the scene now. #HouNews. pic.twitter.com/7PFpasj1Va
— Ed Gonzalez (@SheriffEd_HCSO) April 2, 2019

Officials in Crosby ISD, Channelview, Galena Park, and Sheldon ISD ordered a shelter in place, and closed HVAC units down in nearby schools. District officials lifted the shelter in place order at 2 p.m..

"Our hearts and prayers go out to the individuals involved, as well as our first responders, employees, and our community," KMCO said in a statement.

Residents in the Crosby area reported feeling their homes shaking and seeing black smoke coming from the plant.

According to their website, the KMCO facility delivers superior specialty chemical manufacturing and toll processing services to many of the world’s largest chemical companies. The facility has batch and continuous distillation and multiple reaction capabilities producing over 900 million pounds per year of toll manufacturing products.

Some of the products KMCO produces include additives for antifreeze products, brake fluid products, cement grinding products, Glycol products, and oilfield products.

This latest incident comes just two weeks after a massive fire engulfed nine chemical processing tanks at the Intercontinental Terminals Co. in Deer Park, and burned for nearly four days.

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