At Least 2 Killed In Massive Explosion At Texas Industrial Building - Police Chief

At Least 2 Killed in Massive Explosion at Texas Industrial Building - Police Chief

At least two people have been killed in a massive explosion at an industrial building in Houston, Texas, Houston Police Department Chief Art Acevedo said during a press conference on Friday

WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th January, 2020) At least two people have been killed in a massive explosion at an industrial building in Houston, Texas, Houston Police Department Chief Art Acevedo said during a press conference on Friday.

"We do have confirmed fatalities in this case, at least two confirmed fatalities," Acevedo told reporters.

Acevedo said the Houston Police Department has initiated a criminal investigation into the incident, but pointed out that there is no evidence at present the incident was an act of terrorism.

Earlier in the day, a massive explosion occurred at a manufacturing business in Houston that caused significant damages to homes in the vicinity of the plant.

The authorities deployed hazardous materials teams on the scene, while police blocked off roads near the site and local television reports warned of hazardous fumes in the area, apparently from chemicals either responsible or disbursed from the blast.

The city of Houston said via Twitter that no significant problems with air quality have been detected in the area around the site of the blast, but the city's school district said students would be kept indoors as a precaution.

Video of the initial blast showed a massive fireball filling the entire screen for a split-second, leaving behind a red sky. Later videos showed flames covering the ground floor of a building, with the rest of the structure gone.