Around 18,000 cows died in the explosion at a dairy farm in Texas in the southern United States, authorities said on Thursday, who also reported one person injured.
“This is the deadliest ranch fire in Texas history and will likely take time to investigate and clean up,” Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller said in a news release.
The explosion and fire devastated the Southfork dairy farm near the town of Dimmitt in the Panhandle region of Texas on Monday night.
Firefighters and police rushed to the scene of the crime “discovered that a person was trapped inside”. The farm worker was rescued and airlifted to a hospital, the Castro County Sheriff’s Office said on Facebook.
The origin of the explosion and fire has not been established, said Mr Miller, who described the event as “horrific”.
“Once we know the cause and the facts surrounding this tragedy, we will ensure that the public is fully informed so that such disasters can be avoided in the future,” he added.
Castro County Sheriff Sal Rivera told CBS Amarillo that a barn manure system may be “overheating.”
He added that the methane “could ignite and then spread with the explosion and fire,” and indicated an investigation was underway.