An explosion followed by a fire caused the death of about 18,000 cows in a US barnin what the local press called one of the “greatest livestock losses” in history and an outright “madness”.
It happened at the factories of Southfork Dairy Farms, a dairy located in the city of Dimmit, in the state of Texas. It is one of the leading companies in the global production of milk.
Although the tragedy occurred on Monday night, some details of the fire have only been disclosed in the last few hours. According to the Castro County Sheriff’s Office, one person – a local worker – was trapped during the crash but She was rescued by firefighters and taken to the hospital.
“Texas suffered a tragic blow on the night of April 10, when an explosion at an upstate dairy farm killed an estimated 18,000 cattle and seriously injured a farm worker,” said the Texas State Department Commissioner in a statement Thursday. Miller.
The official informed him again The facts of the tragedy are not known and the causes are being investigated. The impact of the fire “may affect the surrounding area and the industry itself,” she added.
“This was the farm fire deadliest to cattle in Texas history and the investigation and cleanup may take some time,” Miller said.
Castro County, where the fire raged, is an open prairie dotted with dairy farms and cattle ranches. Pictures posted on social media by neighbors They showed the great column of black smoke rising from the farm fire, as well as the charred cows who were rescued from the facility.
It is estimated that 90 percent of all cows died that the company had at the Dimmitt plant. According to data from USA Today, the animals were of the Jersey and Holstein breeds, and are valued at $2,000 each, for which they estimate the losses in several tens of millions of dollars, not counting the machinery.
“A lot of money has been lost and a lot of milk too. It’s very painful because this is what we do, this is how we get money for the city. So it’s a big loss for us.Dimmitt resident Alex Aguilar told Channel 10 Texas.
Castro County Sheriff Sal Rivera told CBS News that a stable manure removal system may have “overheated”.
It is a device similar to a vacuum cleaner. As he explained, they believe that perhaps the methane may have “ignited and then spread with the explosion and fire.”
An unprecedented tragedy
According to the NGO Animal Welfare Institute, this is the deadliest accident in at least a decade, when they started formally recording this type of event.
“Farms need to do more to protect animals adoption of fire safety measures”he specified on his Twitter account.
After the fire, one of the concerns the local government had was how to bury the remains of the 18,000 cows.
“It’s crazy. It’s a real tragedy,” said Dimmitt Mayor Roger Malone. “How to get rid of 18,000 dead bodies? It’s something that doesn’t happen to you often,” he concluded.
Source: Clarin
Mary Ortiz is a seasoned journalist with a passion for world events. As a writer for News Rebeat, she brings a fresh perspective to the latest global happenings and provides in-depth coverage that offers a deeper understanding of the world around us.