Overview
- The release began around 10 p.m. Wednesday from a tanker parked behind a Holiday Inn Express in Weatherford.
- Thirty-six people were treated at hospitals, with 11 in serious to critical condition and four life-flighted to facilities in Oklahoma City.
- Hundreds were evacuated to shelters and broader areas were told to shelter in place, which authorities lifted Thursday morning with guidance to air out homes and decontaminate if exposed.
- The tanker carried about 25,000 pounds of anhydrous ammonia, and the EPA, hazmat teams and the Oklahoma National Guard are conducting monitoring and a multi-day cleanup.
- Investigators are examining a suspected valve or gasket failure as the cause, and officials said a mix of ammonia and suppression water entered a storm drain affecting a nearby creek.