Scores feared dead and more injured as blast rips through fertiliser plant in Texas reducing nearby apartment block to a 'skeleton'

 

Up to 70 people are feared dead and scores more are injured after a huge explosion ripped through a fertilizer plant near the town of West, Texas last night. 

Dozens of homes and buildings have been destroyed and several are still ablaze after the horrific blast next to an old peoples’ home, at about 7.50pm local time.

Fire crews are desperately battling to rescue people still thought to be trapped and a number of firefighters are reported missing. 

A towering plume of smoke was visible for miles around, after the explosion 20 miles north of Waco. 

Texas Department of Public Safety D.L. Wilson said during a press conference at midnight that it will be some time before authorities know the full extent of the loss of life and damage.

The blast produced ground motion equivalent to that of a magnitude 2.1 earthquake, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. see photos of blast after the cut.