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Pope calls for prayers for victims of Texas factory explosion

Pope calls for prayers for victims of Texas factory explosion
A vehicle is seen near the burning remains of a fertilizer plant in West, Texas, April 18, after an explosion there the previous day. Rescue workers searched rubble for survivors of the plant explosion in a small town near Waco that killed as many as 15 people and injured more than 160 others. CNS photo/Mike Stone, Reuters

By Carol Glatz, Catholic News Service

April 18, 2013

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis called for prayers for the victims of a deadly explosion in Texas.

In a short message sent from his @Pontifex Twitter account, the pope told the more than 2.3 million followers on his English account to "Please join me in praying for the victims of the explosion in Texas and their families."

A massive explosion ripped through a fertilizer plant about 75 miles south of Dallas the evening of April 17, killing at least five people and wounding more than 160 others. The number of casualties was expected to rise, authorities said.

The blast leveled dozens of homes nearby and seriously damaged other buildings, including a nursing home. Nearly half of the town's 2,800 residents were forced to evacuate over fears that another fertilizer tank might explode and because of the danger posed by the chemicals' noxious fumes.