Fiery explosion at Texas dairy farm kills 18,000 cows
18,000 cows perished after a massive fire erupted at a dairy farm in West Texas, becoming the largest known single-incident death of cattle.
The fire began after an explosion at the South Fork Dairy farm in Dimmitt, Texas on Monday.
Officials worked to subdue the fire for hours and when they did were alarmed at the 18,000 cattle that perished in the fire - the number is nearly three times the amount of cows slaughtered each day in the US.
One dairy farm worker was rescued and taken to the hospital. As of Tuesday, they were in critical, but stable condition.
It is unclear how the explosion began, though County Judge Mandy Gfeller hypothesized that it could have been a malfunction in a piece of equipment. Texas fire officials will be investigating the cause according to USA Today.
Locals told KFDA News Channel 10 they heard a loud boom and could see massive pillars of smoke for miles. The black smoke could be seen for miles, even from surrounding towns.
“It was crazy,” Kennedy Cleraman, a Dimmitt resident, told KFDA. “There was a big, massive, black air and it looked like fog in the street. And it was all burnt- the place.”
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