Recovery crews kept searching Wednesday for nine people missing after a tank of highly corrosive industrial chemical ruptured at the Nippon Dynawave Packaging facility in Longview, Washington, leaving two people dead and seven injured. Officials said the accident scene remained active and extremely hazardous, and they did not expect to find any more survivors.
The rupture happened Tuesday and sent hundreds of thousands of gallons of white liquor pouring out of the tank, with about 25,000 gallons still inside on Wednesday and the leak continuing slowly. Photos from the scene showed the broken tank and crushed and overturned vehicles, a stark sign of how quickly the longview wa explosion turned a working industrial site into a rescue zone. One injured person who was taken to hospital later died of injuries, bringing the death toll to two.
Seven employees and one firefighter were hurt, and crews were wearing special protective gear to work around the chemicals. Recovery efforts were suspended overnight because of the danger of operating in darkness, then resumed early Wednesday morning. Cowlitz Fire and Rescue Chief Scott Goldstein said authorities did not know where all nine missing people were, underscoring how little certainty remained at the site even as the search continued.
The incident unfolded at a plant that makes tissues, printer paper, cups, plates, cartons and other goods and employs 1,000 people, according to the Washington State Department of Ecology. It was also the scene of a major fire in July 2023, when piles of wood burned for days. The latest rupture involved white liquor, an alkaline solution used to make paper products, and sent a large volume of contaminants into the Columbia River, though officials said local drinking water and air quality were unaffected.
Matt Amos said the scene still remained active and was extremely hazardous in the recovery environment, adding that crews sometimes encounter industrial hazards that make even the best equipment unsafe to use. That is the blunt reality left in Longview: the search is not expected to produce survivors, but it still has to continue until every missing worker is accounted for.
