On Thursday, May 28, the fire chief of Longview, Washington state, announced that rescuers have found the bodies of 6 out of 9 missing workers. Earlier, a large chemical storage tank at a local paper mill ruptured, causing a significant leak of corrosive liquid, resulting in some individuals sustaining burns and lung injuries.
The incident occurred on Tuesday morning, May 26, at Nippon Dynawave Packaging Co., located along the Columbia River in Longview. A tank storing over 500,000 gallons (1.9 million liters) of a chemical mixture primarily consisting of sodium hydroxide and sodium sulfide for wood pulp paper production collapsed unexpectedly.
This tragedy has claimed the lives of 11 individuals (including 3 whose bodies have not been found) and left 8 others injured (including a firefighter), many with burns or inhalation-related lung damage.
This is one of the most severe industrial accidents in the United States in recent decades, comparable in scale to the explosion at a Tennessee explosives factory in the fall of 2025 (16 deaths), the 2013 explosion at a Texas fertilizer plant (14 deaths), and the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion.
Authorities are still investigating the cause of the disaster. Shortly after the accident, Washington State Governor Bob Ferguson expressed deep condolences to the families of the victims at a press conference, calling it possibly the state’s most severe industrial tragedy in modern times.
On May 28, Longview Fire Chief Matt Amos stated that the tank collapse occurred during a shift change. The 6 bodies that have been recovered were gathered together at the time of the incident, waiting to be assigned their tasks for the day.
Amos mentioned that due to the presence of residual chemicals and other industrial hazards, the rescue operation is progressing slowly and with utmost caution. To prevent further risks from the collapsed tank, rescuers need to stay clear of the area near the storage tank and verify with engineers the safety of entering surrounding structures.
Rescuers noted that during the recovery of remains, they must first undergo chemical decontamination before transferring the bodies for identification by the coroner’s office, and subsequent decontamination after completing the mission.
While the authorities have not yet released the names of the deceased, friends and family have begun to confirm their identities and have launched fundraising campaigns online to support the families through this difficult time.
The first victim to be identified was the factory electrician and grandfather, Gilbert Bernal. His close friend Todd Cornwell described him as “one of the most sincere and kind-hearted individuals I’ve ever met. He’d give you the shirt off his back without hesitation if you needed it. Always willing to help.”
According to verified posts on the crowdfunding site GoFundMe, 26-year-old CJ Doran was also among the victims. The post described him as a young husband, “the spiritual head of the family, the jokester, and an essential pillar in the home.”
Other victims include John Forsberg, a father of two, Jared Ammons, expecting his third child, and Braydon Finkas, also an electrician at the factory.
Finkas’ friend Rex Czuba mentioned that Finkas and his longtime partner, Kaitlyn Kincaid, were very caring, offering shelter to exchange students and others in need in their home. He recalled that Finkas was always willing to lend a hand, whether it was mowing someone’s lawn or buying a beer for new faces in town. “He was a key figure in the town, deeply integrated into the community.”
The Japanese parent company of the paper mill, Nippon Paper Group, issued a statement on Wednesday, May 27, expressing their “deepest condolences and heartfelt sympathy” to the families of the victims.
Authorities confirmed on Thursday, May 28, that the leakage incident did not contaminate the air and drinking water in Longview and its surrounding areas.
Longview is located at the border of Washington state and Oregon, with a population of approximately 40,000. The community was established in the 1920s by a lumber tycoon from Kansas City at the confluence of the Cowlitz River and the Columbia River, with deep ties to the paper and lumber industries.
Many local residents have family and friends employed at this factory, which has around 1,000 employees and mainly produces materials for tissues, printing paper, cups, plates, and boxes.
Currently, staff are flushing contaminated standing water in ditches near the factory, diluting it, and pumping it into the river. An EPA report indicated that although some pollutants have entered the river, there have been no significant impacts on the river’s ecology.
(Reference: Associated Press)