9 missing in US paper mill disaster but no hope of survivors, officials say
Before any bodies of the missing can be recovered, crews must first stabilise the tank, which was at risk of collapsing further
Crews were set to resume searching Wednesday for nine workers at a Washington paper mill where a tank imploded, releasing a highly destructive chemical mixture called “white liquor” and causing at least one confirmed death.
Authorities said there was no hope of finding any more survivors of Tuesday’s tank implosion at Nippon Dynawave Packaging in Longview, which also injured nine other people, including a responding firefighter. But before any bodies of the missing can be recovered, crews on Wednesday must first stabilise the tank, which was at risk of collapsing further and leaking more of the caustic liquid.
The implosion caused the huge circular tank to buckle and collapse on one side, and officials said they would only work during daylight because of the dangers. While the cause remained unknown, authorities said there was no threat to the community, a Columbia River city of about 40,000 people with long ties to the Washington and Oregon paper and timber industries.
It was the second notable chemical tank failure in days on the West Coast, following the evacuation of thousands of Southern California residents due to a damaged tank at an aerospace plant before those orders were lifted on Tuesday night.
The paper mill tank was holding about 900,000 gallons (3.4 million litres) of a liquid made of mostly sodium hydroxide and sodium sulphide. Known as “white liquor”, it is used with heat to break down wood to make kraft paper, a durable material used in packaging, shopping bags and other products.