The Latest: Search halted for man missing after plant blast

The Latest on an explosion at a Texas chemical plant that left one worker missing, presumed dead, and two others injured (all times local):

8:15 p.m.

The search for a worker still missing and presumed dead after an explosion at a North Texas chemical plant has been halted for the night.

Hood County Fire marshal Ray Wilson said the search for Dylan Mitchell will resume Saturday morning at the Tri-Chem Industries plant in Cresson, 50 miles (80 kilometers) southwest of Dallas. A Thursday fire and explosion at the plant also injured two other workers.

One worker, Jason Speegle, remains hospitalized in serious condition at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas, where he's undergoing treatment for severe burns. Another worker has been discharged from a hospital in Granbury after treatment for his minor injuries.

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5:30 p.m.

The girlfriend of the man who is missing and presumed dead after an explosion at a Texas chemical plant says she keeps calling his phone, hoping he'll answer or that the rescuers will hear it and find him.

Amber Gutierrez, Dylan Mitchell's girlfriend, was waiting Friday afternoon near the site of Thursday's explosion at a Tri-Chem Industries plant in Cresson, 50 miles (80 kilometers) southwest of Dallas. Mitchell's brother and cousin waited with her.

Gutierrez says Mitchell moved with the company from their Arlington warehouse when they opened the plant about a year ago in Cresson.

She said he was a he was a jack-of-all-trades. She says, "He did everything around here. He gave his life to this place — literally."

Two other workers were injured in the explosion. One has been released from the hospital while the other remains in serious condition.

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5:15 p.m.

Officials say the search has resumed for a worker who is missing and presumed dead after an explosion at a Texas chemical plant.

Hood County Fire Marshal Ray Wilson said there was a pause in the search at the Tri-Chem Industries plant Friday afternoon while crews evaluated the mixtures of chemicals that had spilled.

Hood County records showed that in 2017 the company had chemicals that were toxic and flammable.

Texas Department of Public Safety Staff Sgt. Earl Gillum says experts determined there are no air quality issues but the site remains dangerous because of the hazardous industrial chemicals.

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4:20 p.m.

Officials say one of two workers injured in an explosion at a Texas chemical plant has been treated and released from a hospital while another remains hospitalized in serious condition.

A third worker is missing and presumed dead after Thursday's explosion at Tri-Chem Industries in Cresson, located 50 miles (80 kilometers) southwest of Dallas.

The Hood County Fire Marshal Ray Wilson said Friday that one worker had been treated and released from a hospital in nearby Granbury. He said investigators have not yet been able to interview the man in treatment at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas.

Jessica Gregg told television station KXAS that the man flown to Parkland was Jason Speegle, her son-in-law.

Parkland spokeswoman Catherine Bradley said Speegle was in serious condition on Friday.

Wilson said a deputy fire marshal was hospitalized Thursday with breathing difficulties, but has been treated and released.

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3:30 p.m.

Officials say the search for a missing worker following an explosion at a Texas chemical plant has been halted while crews clean up chemicals that are leaching from the plant.

Hood County Fire Marshal Ray Wilson said Friday that about half of the 15,000-square-foot (1,400-square-meter) Tri-Chem Industries plant has caved in and remains on fire. The plant is in Cresson, 50 miles (80 kilometers) southwest of Dallas.

He says they searched the front half of the building on Thursday and Friday and haven't found the missing worker, who is presumed dead. He didn't know when they would resume the search.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and the Hood County fire marshal's office haven't revealed what's in the plant's chemical inventory. But Wilson said the plant contains acids that react to heat, pressure and water, which is why they haven't yet turned on the fire hose.

Although there is a fertilizer plant adjacent to the Tri-Chem plant, Wilson said there's "no known threat to their facility."

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9:45 a.m.

Hazardous materials crews have resumed the search for a worker who is missing and presumed dead following an explosion at a Texas chemical plant that injured two co-workers.

Texas Department of Public Safety Staff Sgt. Earl Gillum says recovery crews are using heavy equipment Friday to clear burned debris at the Tri-Chem Industries plant in Cresson, 50 miles (80 kilometers) southwest of Dallas.

Investigators believe a worker dragging his foot along the floor while chemicals were being mixed sparked Thursday's explosion. That worker is hospitalized with critical burns. Another worker was treated for less severe injuries.

The search resumed Friday for the third worker who Gillum has said is presumed dead.

Gillum says experts determined there are no air quality issues but the site remains dangerous because of the hazardous industrial chemicals.