A small Texas town was smashed on Wednesday night by a large explosion at a fertilizer plant.
More than 100 people were injured and 5 to 15 killed in the West, Texas explosion. Property damage was immense. There is also fear of toxic ammonia gas in the air.
The blast was so big it registered as a 2.1 magnitude earthquake.
"It was like a nuclear bomb went off," West Mayor Tommy Muska told CNN.
The West Fertilizer Co. was located right in the middle of town.
Sgt. Patrick Swanton of the Waco Police Department said the first call of a fire came in at 7:29 p.m. local time. Firefighters and other emergency workers responded to the call and began evacuating the area.
Minutes later, the devastating explosion occured. The first call of the explosion came in at 7:53 p.m. local time, Swanton said.
Below are staggering pictures of the aftermath:
AP Photo/LM Otero
Firefighters use flashlights to search a destroyed apartment complex near a fertilizer plant that exploded earlier in West, Texas, in this photo made early Thursday morning, April 18, 2013.
AP Photo/LM Otero
Firefighters search an area destroyed by a fertilizer plant explosion in West, Texas, in this photo made early Thursday morning, April 18, 2013.
REUTERS / Mike Stone
The remains of a fertilizer plant burn after an explosion at the plant in the town of West, near Waco, Texas early April 18, 2013.
REUTERS/Mike Stone
The remains of a fertilizer plant burn after an explosion at the plant in the town of West, near Waco, Texas early April 18, 2013.
REUTERS/Mike Stone
A damaged vehicle is seen after an explosion at a fertilizer plant in the town of West, near Waco, Texas early April 18, 2013.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
With smoke rising in the distance, a law enformcement officer runs a check point at the perimeter about half a mile from the West Fertilizer Company April 18, 2013 in West, Texas.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Blown out plate glass windows lay shattered on the sidewalk and street after the West Fertilizer Company exploded April 18, 2013 in West, Texas.
AP Photo/WFAA-TV
This video image provided by WFAA-TV shows injured people being treated on the flood-lit the high school football field turned into a staging area after the blast in West Texas Wednesday April 17, 2013.