More Than 18,000 Dairy Cows are Dead After Explosion on Texas Farm

Truly devastating news coming out of Dimmitt, Texas in Castro County. Earlier this week, an explosion at a dairy farm killed more than 18,000 cows and injured one person, according to various news sources.

Dimmitt, Texas is a little town located about 66 miles south of Amarillo, Texas. According to a report shared by the BBC, authorities who arrived on the scene believe the explosion may have been caused by machinery that caused methane gas in the air to ignite.

Authorities from the Castro County Sheriff's Office said it was around 7:21 in the evening when they received word regarding the fire at the South Fork Dairy Farm in Dimmit.

Officially, the exact number of dairy cows that died in the explosion isn't known. However, the estimation given to the BBC was around 18,000. Once first responders arrived at the farm, one person was trapped inside. The responders engaged in a rescue and the person was air-lifted to a hospital in Lubbock, Texas, and was put in critical care.

According to the Texas Tribune's report on the incident, the Animal Welfare Insititute claimed this was the "deadliest fire involving cows in nearly a decade."

The report also shared a statement that was shared by the "Texas Association of Dairymen on behalf of the dairy industry [ where they] expressed condolences for the incident."

“We are deeply saddened for the family dairy, and everyone affected by the tragedy that occurred at South Fork Dairy farm. The cause of the fire is still under investigation, and we are deferring to the appropriate authorities to make that determination.”

Here's a video report that was shared by KHOU 11 regarding the tragic incident: