(Photo: Twitter)
About 18,000 cattle died this week after a “horrific” explosion and fire on a dairy farm in the US state of Texas.
The explosion and fire occurred Monday night at Southfork Dairy Farm near the town of Dimmitt.
One farm worker was hospitalized after the incident after he was initially trapped in the camp.
“This was the worst fire at cattle camps in Texas history and the investigation and cleanup may take some time,” says Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller.
Firefighters and police officers rushed to the farm on Monday evening and upon their arrival determined that one person was trapped in the camp. The employee was freed and flown to a hospital in Lubbock for medical treatment.
Miller says the cause of the explosion and fire is still unknown.
“Once the cause and facts of this tragedy are known, we will make sure that the public is fully informed so that tragedies like this can be avoided in the future,” says Miller.
However, Sal Rivera, the sheriff of Castro County, suspects that a system to remove manure from the camps may have “overheated”.
Rivera also says an investigation will be conducted to determine the exact cause of the explosion and fire.
“Farms must do more to protect animals by implementing strict fire safety measures,” the Animal Welfare Institute, one of the oldest animal welfare charities in the United States, tweeted in the meantime.
18,000 cows dead after explosion in Dimmitt, TX at Southfork Dairy Farm.
Animal Welfare Institute: “The deadliest barn fire involving cattle since the organization started tracking barn fires in 2013.”
Cause of explosion “unknown.”pic.twitter.com/te5XbKK8MY
— Suburban Black Man ???????? (@niceblackdude) April 12, 2023
????TEXAS :#VIDEO EXPLOSION AND MASSIVE FIRE AT SOUTH FORK DAIRY FARM NEAR DIMMIT,
leaves one person in critical condition.
18,000 cattle were killed.#BreakingNews #UltimaHora #Dimmit #SouthFork #Explosion #Fire #Fire #Fire
????by @Key2Eternity pic.twitter.com/Z8plMdZPvN— LoveWorld (@LoveWorld_Peopl) April 12, 2023
