By Suzanne Gamboa, Phil Helsel, Morgan Chesky, and David Douglas, NBC News
No survivors are expected to be found at a Washington state manufacturing plant after a chemical tank implosion, according to officials, who said Wednesday that a second death had been confirmed and that nine other people are presumed dead.
The 11 likely deaths in Tuesday’s implosion at the paper mill in Longview would make it the deadliest industrial accident in modern state history, Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson said.
Cowlitz County Fire Chief Scott Goldstein said at a news conference Wednesday, “We have declared this incident a transition from rescue to recovery as of this morning.”
The implosion occurred around 7:15 a.m. Tuesday at the Nippon Dynawave plant involved a tank built to hold 900,000 gallons of “white liquor,” a noxious chemical used in the paper-pulping process, officials said.
