“It was like a nuclear bomb going went off,” the town’s Mayor Tommy Muska has said of the explosion to CNN.
Buildings were leveled for blocks, and the blast of the explosion, which registered 2.1 on the Richter scale – the same scale used to measure to force of seismic events such as earthquakes – was felt for many miles around.
As many as 160 people were injured by the blast, and although 14 people have now been confirmed dead by the authorities, the small close-knit town has been warned that the death toll could rise as emergency services investigate homes and buildings that were hit.
Buildings that were hit include apartment complexes and a school, with buildings for blocks reduced to but a shell by the power of the explosion.
A new video of the explosion has come to light, see the footage below.
