Two fatalities following paper mill explosion in US

The number of fatalities from a workplace accident at Nippon Dynawave Packaging Company’s pulp and paper mill in Washington state, US, has increased to two. The Longview Fire Department reported on Tuesday (26 May) that one person died and nine others remain missing following a chemical explosion. firefighters stated the incident was triggered by a ruptured white chemical storage tank used in the pulp-making process. “One person who was evacuated from the site on Tuesday succumbed to their injuries, confirming the death toll as two,” said fire department and company officials in a joint statement on Wednesday. The statement also noted nine people are still missing, while seven employees and one firefighter sustained injuries. Cowlitz County Fire Chief Scott Goldstein said the incident caused a spill from the facility that flowed into the Columbia River. “Additional information is being processed to classify and measure the impact,” Goldstein said at a press conference. Environmental monitoring and mitigation efforts are ongoing with assistance from the US Environmental Protection Agency to assess air and water quality and coordinate the response to environmental effects.