Tragic accident on a cow farm in the USA!
More than 18,000 cattle died after a powerful explosion at a dairy farm in Texas. Authorities believe machines at the facility ignited methane gas.
“This was the deadliest cattle barn fire in Texas history and the investigation will take some time,” Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, 67, said Thursday. In fact, it was the deadliest incident on a US dairy farm to date.
Photos released by police show a huge plume of black smoke billowing from the facility. When police and rescue workers arrived at the scene of the fire, they found a worker trapped who had to be rescued and flown to hospital in critical condition. His life is no longer in danger.
The exact number of cows killed by the fire and smoke is not yet known – but a police spokesman told the BBC “at least 18,000 cattle” were killed. Although “some would have survived”. However, most are “probably so badly injured that they have to be killed”.
Castro County Sheriff Sal Rivera told CBS about the barn cleaning system, “Maybe the machine overheated and the methane ignited and exploded.”
However, Texas authorities are still investigating the actual cause of the incident.
An animal protection organization called for fire protection to be improved on farms. Since 2013, almost 6.5 million farm animals have died in barn fires in the USA, including around six million chickens and around 7,300 cows. That’s why the 18,000 cattle are now particularly important.