An explosion at the Southfork Dairy Farm located 11 miles from Dimmitt, Texas, killed about 18,000 dairy cows and left one person seriously injured.
The events occurred Monday around 7:30 p.m. Castro County Sheriff Sal Rivera said few cows survived the explosion: "Your count probably is close to that. There’s some that survived, there’s some that are probably injured to the point where they’ll have to be destroyed." The cattle were waiting in the milking area when the violent explosion occurred.
🚨#UPDATE: Mass Casaulty Incident has declared after explosion at dairy farm in Dimmitt, Texas. So far one person is in critical condition at this time with information being very limited this was moments after the explosion that took place#SouthForkDairy#CastroCounty… pic.twitter.com/R5GjvUMHN5
— LockharTVMedia (@LockharTVMedia) April 11, 2023
Following the explosion, authorities rushed to the farm and rescued a badly injured woman with burns, who was transported via helicopter to Lubbock UMC Hospital, located a few miles from the farm. The rest of the workers were unharmed.
The Texas State Fire Marshal's Office is conducting an investigation of the explosion. The Castro County Sheriff's Office believes the explosion was caused by one of the farm's machines overheating.
