DIMMITT, Texas – Nearly 18,000 cattle were killed in a barn explosion at South Fork Dairy in Dimmitt, Texas near Lubbock Monday, KFDA-TV reported.
The explosion happened at around 7:30 p.m. A worker was trapped inside the milking facility and was hospitalized at UMC Hospital in critical condition after being rescued by first responders, reports said.
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According to Castro County Sheriff Sal Rivera, the explosion spread to a building where cattle are hauled before they are brought into the milking area and into a holding pen. As a result, only a “small percentage of cows” survived, KFDA reported.
Officials said all of the employees at the dairy were accounted for.
The Animal Welfare Institute says this is the “deadliest barn fire for cattle overall” and 6,479,192 animals have been killed in barn fires since 2013.
KFDA reported the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality Amarillo Region arrived at the scene at around 9:30 a.m. Tuesday and are assisting the dairy owner with carcass disposal and debris issues.
The cause of the explosion is unknown.