West Texas Explosion: Fertilizer Plant Explosion Near Waco, Texas Leaves Several Dead, Injured Following Boston Marathon Bombing

Shortly after the bombings in Boston, yet another tragic explosion has taken the country by surprise.

The explosion took place at 8 p.m. in West, Texas shortly after there was a fire at the fertilizing plant. 

"I ask for your prayers.  Search and rescue teams have been working through the night," said Mayor Tommy Muska at a briefing this morning, according to WFAA news.

The total numbers of casualties and injuries have not been calculated yet.

"I can't confirm the number of casualties, but I can tell you that we do have casualties," said Waco police spokesman Sgt. W. Patrick Swanton at an early news conference, according to WFAA news. "I can tell you that it is estimated anywhere from five to 15 at this point."

At a midnight press conference last night, the local police confirmed that the explosion caused fatalities, although they did not provide a number, according to Slate.

Officials are still searching through the rubble of the plant and neighboring homes in order to figure out an accurate number of casualties.

Early this morning, however, Dr. George Smith, West, Texas EMS director Dr. George Smith confirmed that two paramedics were killed in the explosion and six firefighters remain unaccounted for, according to WFAA.

Hundreds of people were injured in the explosion and dozens of homes and businesses were damaged or completely destroyed, according to Mother Jones.  The damaged buildings also include a nursing home, West City Hall, a High School and a Middle School, according to ABC News.

ABC News confirmed that, "there are a total of 179 people hospitalized with 10 additional people in triage. At least 24 are in critical condition, nine of which are burn victims sent to Parkland Hospital in Dallas. At least 38 people are in serious condition."

Three hospitals in Waco and Dallas that were receiving the bulk of patients from the disaster reported treating more than 160 injuries combined, according to Reuters.

Mayor Muska said the number of destroyed homes was between 60 and 80, according to Reuters.

"It's a lot of devastation. I've never seen anything like this," said McLennan County Sheriff Parnell McNamara, according to Reuters. "It looks like a war zone with all the debris."

The origin of the explosion remains unknown but Sergeant W. Patrick Swanton of the Waco Police said that investigators plan on doing an examination to see if the blaze was caused by a chemical reaction or if it were an attack of some sort, according to Reuters.

"We are not indicating that it is a crime, but we don't know," Swanton told reporters early this morning. "What that means to us is that until we know it is an industrial accident, we will work it as a crime scene."

Ground motion from the blast, triggered by the fire, registered as a magnitude 2.1 seismic tremor and created a jolt felt in Dallas and beyond, the U.S. Geological Survey reported.

Now that the flames have been put out, the main concern for West, Texas residents was the possibility that hazardous fumes in the air might have a negative affect on public health.

"ABC Chief Health and Medical Editor Dr. Richard Besser says a continuing danger from the Texas fertilizer plant explosion and fire is exposure to ammonia," according to ABC News.

However, "emergency management personnel downtown determined that there was no immediate danger to the public from the smoke from the fire, said Swanton," according to Reuters.