Investigators from multiple federal agencies are on the ground in White County, working to determine what caused a fuel storage tank to explode, killing three.
Coroner David Powell identified the dead as:
-William Decker, 48, of Scottsburg, Ind.;
-Roy Mathis, 60, of Wheatfield, Ind., and
-Stoney Powell, 45, also of Wheatfield.
The White County coroner saying they died, not from fire or smoke, but from the force of the blast.
The Department of Transportation said an internal inspection of the tank was completed 11 years ago and an external one just last year.
We asked how common this is and they tell us every incident is unique, but the person we spoke with said in 14 years at the agency he's never heard about something like what happened here yesterday.
Gas tank explosion
ADEM responded to the scene of a unleaded gas container explosion in White County and confirmed three fatalities.
Arkansas Department of Emergency Management says the unleaded gas tank exploded at 194 Tank Farm Road just south of Searcy in White County.
The three people killed were hired to clean and make repairs to the tank when something ignited and caused the explosion. The workers were from
C&C Welding in Kentucky.
The tank belonged to
TEPPCO out of Houston.
People describe the explosion as loud and forceful.
"It just shook the whole building,” says Billy Gray.
He took off from work when he heard the blast.
"I was just worried about my family and home,” he said.
That’s because he lives just 300 yards away from the TEPPCO facility.
After making sure his family was okay, he immediately started snapping photos.
The pictures tell the story, just moments after something caused one tank to explode -- rushing emergency crews to the scene.
"I live right over there. I came out and looked and you could see reddish brown smoke pouring,” said Howard Moore.
So he called 911.
"I could see people running around everywhere,” he explained
Three contractors never made it out.
"It's a sad day. Hopefully nothing else will happen like this,” Gray said.
