The accident at a chemical plant in Washington resulted in 11 fatalities as recovery teams retrieved all remains

Recovery crews have located all missing workers following a chemical tank rupture in Washington state that resulted in the deaths of 11 individuals.

Recovery crews have located the bodies of all nine workers who were reported missing following a chemical tank rupture at a paper manufacturing facility in Washington state, bringing the total death toll to 11, authorities announced on Saturday.

Two fatalities were confirmed shortly after the incident on Tuesday at a facility managed by Nippon Dynawave Packaging in Longview. The remaining nine victims were found during an extensive search and recovery operation carried out by emergency crews over several days.

The incident took place when a storage tank filled with white liquor, a chemical blend of sodium hydroxide and sodium sulfide utilized in paper pulp production, experienced an implosion at the plant. Authorities reported that the tank contained approximately 900,000 gallons (3.4 million liters) of the substance.

Search teams dedicated several days to clearing debris within the facility and employed drones to examine the impacted areas surrounding the site. Officials have confirmed that all missing workers are now accounted for.

Environmental testing revealed that some contamination had entered the nearby Columbia River as a result of the rupture. Authorities have reported that monitoring has found no negative impacts on air quality or the drinking water supply in the city of Longview.

Nippon Dynawave Packaging operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of Nippon Paper Industries, which is recognized as Japan’s second-largest paper manufacturer by sales. The company purchased the Longview plant from timber producer Weyerhaeuser for $225 million and founded the subsidiary in 2016.

Investigations into the cause of the tank failure are currently underway.