LONGVIEW, Wash. — One person is dead, nine people are missing, and nine more are hurt after a vat containing hundreds of thousands of gallons of dangerous chemicals failed at the Nippon Dynawave packaging plant in Longview.
KIRO 7 has learned the identity of the person killed: Gilbert Bernal. A friend has set up a GoFundMe for his family to pay for funeral expenses.
“He was a Godly man in every sense of the word,” the organizer, Todd Cornwell wrote.
“Thank you so much to those who have donated to our family. Every donation is greatly appreciated and we appreciate our community coming together to help support my family during this time,” his wife, Geovana Bernal wrote.
If you’d like to donate, you can do so by clicking here.
Many people came together Tuesday night in song and prayer at a vigil in downtown Longview. Organizers said this is a loss that’s touched everyone in the community.
“When anything happens at the mills, we all know someone affected,” said Spencer Boudreau, the vigil organizer and former Longview mayor. “This is probably the worst job site disaster we have had here, ever.”
Several state agencies have been called in to help, including the National Guard, the Department of Health, the Department of Ecology, and the Department of Labor and industries, to assist in cleanup and the investigation into what happened.
Officials said that crews are on a recovery mission for the nine employees missing employees, rather than a rescue.
“Recovery efforts remain complex due to ongoing safety concerns at the site. While originally believed to contain approximately 80,000 gallons, officials now report the tank held approximately 900,000 gallons of white liquor. Longview Fire and Cowlitz 2 Fire & Rescue estimate roughly 90,000 gallons of material may remain inside the damaged tank,” Longview Fire posted to social media.
Another GoFundMe has identified one of the missing employees as Jared Ammons.
Jared has left behind a wife, two kids, and one on the way.
“Jared was a loving husband, devoted father, cherished son, and caring brother. His loss has left an unimaginable hole in the hearts of everyone who knew him,” the organizer, Maddie Adams, shared.
If you’d like to donate, click here.
KIRO 7 News is working to confirm the identities of the others who are feared dead in the disaster and will update this when more information becomes available.
The implosion
At approximately 7:18 a.m. Tuesday, the Longview Fire Department (LFD) responded to a hazardous material incident at the Nippon Dynawave Packaging Company.
According to fire officials, a tank containing a highly acidic chemical called white liquor ruptured. Images from the aftermath show flipped cars and a crushed vat.
Currently, the tank remains unstable, “creating hazardous conditions for emergency personnel,” Longview Fire said.
Emergency officials said it is still not clear what caused the vat to fail.
About Nippon Dynaware Packaging Company
The Nippon Dynawave Packaging Company is a kraft pulp and paper mill and liquid packaging plant. The pulp and paper mill currently has roughly 550 employees, while the liquid packaging plant has about 450 employees, according to the Washington State Department of Ecology.
Seattle police detectives are investigating a homicide in the Madison Park neighborhood Sunday evening.
On May 24 just after 5:00 p.m., patrol officers responded to reports of a person down inside of a parking lot in the 4000 block of East Madison Street. There, officers found a man with obvious signs of trauma. The Seattle Fire Department pronounced the victim deceased at the scene.
Police cordoned off the area until the Homicide and Crime Sc
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