Authorities announced on Friday that recovery teams have found the remains of another victim from the catastrophic chemical tank rupture at a Washington state paper mill. This leaves two workers still unaccounted for in the tragic incident. Among the 11 victims were two brothers, a local trivia champion, and an electrician known for assisting his farming neighbors with hay cutting.
The disaster struck at Nippon Dynawave Packaging Co. in Longview, where a tank holding over 500,000 gallons (1.9 million liters) of a chemical mixture used in paper production collapsed on Tuesday morning. Longview is a city with a population of 40,000 located along the Columbia River.
The collapse unleashed a torrent of dangerously caustic chemicals, strong enough to demolish building walls and flip pickup trucks. The substance, known as white liquor, poses serious health risks, causing severe burns upon contact and lung damage if its vapors are inhaled.
What happens during the recovery process
According to Matt Amos, the Longview fire battalion chief, the recovery efforts have been slow and deliberate due to the hazardous conditions created by the remaining chemicals and other industrial dangers.
On Thursday, six bodies were recovered. That evening, crews employed vacuum trucks to remove a substantial portion of the leftover liquid, enabling search teams to extend their efforts deeper into the site on Friday, Amos reported.
Crews were steering clear of a zone closest to the tank and they’ve been working with engineers to determine which damaged buildings near it are safe to enter.
As they collect the remains, crews must decontaminate them before turning them over to the coroner’s office for identification. The searchers also must decontaminate themselves.
The cause of the disaster is under investigation. Eight people were injured, including a firefighter who was treated and released from a hospital. Authorities did not have an update on the condition of those still hospitalized.
Who was killed in the chemical tank disaster
Authorities have not released the names of those who were killed, but friends and relatives had begun confirming their names and posting online fundraisers to support their families.
Among the victims were brothers Tyler and Brad Covington, who worked together at the plant. An online effort to support Tyler Covington’s family noted he “leaves behind his wife and their three beautiful children, who are now trying to navigate a future without the man who was their rock, protector, and greatest source of love and support.”
Gilbert Bernal, a grandfather who was an electrician at the plant, was the first confirmed death, his friend Todd Cornwell said.
“He was one of the most genuinely good people that you’ve ever met. He would give you the shirt off his back if you needed it,” Cornwell said.
John Forsberg, who also died in the collapse, was witty, kind and “wicked smart,” said friend Kole Musgrove, who hosts a trivia night at Ashtown Brewing in Longview where Forsberg regularly competed. The brewery is renaming its trivia trophy the Forsberg Cup to honor him.
“It seemed like there was never a fact he didn’t know,” Musgrove said. “He was also a tremendous sport — he was always the first to cheer for another team when they won.”
A GoFundMe post sought donations for Forsberg’s two children.
CJ Doran, 26, was “the spiritual leader of their family, the joy of their home, and the family provider,” according to a GoFundMe post verified by the crowdfunding site.
Other victims included Jared Ammons, who had two children and another on the way, and Braydon Finkas, an electrician at the plant, who, along with his longtime partner, Kaitlyn Kincaid, hosted exchange students and others in need, according to their friend Rex Czuba.
Finkas moved to Cathlamet about four years ago to build a house and start a farm, Czuba said. He always was willing to help other farmers cut hay or load equipment, or buy a beer for a new face in their small town, he said.
“He really jumped in and became a part of the community so quickly,” Czuba said.
The tank failure also injured eight people, including a firefighter. Some suffered burns or inhalation injuries, authorities said.
The mill’s Japanese parent company, Nippon Paper Group, said in an updated statement Friday it was offering its “heartfelt sympathies to the bereaved families.”
What’s the impact of the spill on the area
At a press conference Friday, officials said the city’s drinking water remained safe.
The community, which was founded at the confluence of the Cowlitz and Columbia rivers by a Kansas City timber baron in the 1920s, has deep ties to paper and lumber industries.
Fishing and recreational activities in the Columbia River are safe, said Courtney Serad, on-scene coordinator with the state Department of Ecology. However, the agency has collected 23 fish that died in drainage ditches following the initial chemical release and anticipates that any dead fish found in the Columbia River will be from those ditches.
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