Livestock: Over 18,000 cattle perish in a farm explosion in Texas
New Delhi: Over 18,000 head of cattle died and a farm worker was wounded when a horrific explosion and fire ripped through a dairy farm in the southern American state of Texas.
Media reports, quoting Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, said on Thursday “This was the deadliest barn fire for cattle in Texas history and the investigation. The ongoing clean up may take some time.”
The explosion and fire ripped through the Southfork Dairy Farms near the town of Dimmitt in the Texas Panhandle on Monday night.
Several firefighters and police personnel rushed to the site to douse fires and rescue any survivors. They rescued a worker and flew him to a hospital in Lubbock.
The cause of the explosion and fire were not immediately known, said Miller, who described it as a “horrific event.”
“Once we know the cause and the facts surrounding this tragedy, we will make sure the public is fully informed — so tragedies like this can be avoided in the future,” he said.
Castro County Sheriff Sal Rivera said that a system to remove manure from the barns may have gotten “overheated.”
He said oozing methane may have “ignited and then spread out with the explosion and the fire,” adding that a probe would have to determine the precise cause.
“Farms must do more to protect animals by adopting common sense fire safety measures,” tweeted the Animal Welfare Institute, one of the oldest animal welfare charities in the United States, referring to the Texas tragedy.
(VP)
