Huge plume of smoke rises into the air after explosion at Texas chemical plant, killing 1

One person died and at least two others were seriously injured in an explosion and fire at a Texas chemical plant when a tank containing a flammable chemical caught fire on Tuesday morning (April 2).

Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez confirmed the death in a tweet and said the two injured were transported by helicopter to a nearby hospital.

KMCO is a chemical company that offers coolant and brake fluid products and chemicals for the oilfield industry.

In the footage, we can see a plume of thick black smoke rising into the air and students in a classroom as they have to shelter indoors.

The filmer wrote: "Students in Crosby High School doing their work in very hot classroom because they turned the AC unit off so the smoke doesn’t come through the vents as they are waiting to move onto the next period of the day because they told them to shelter in place, around 10:30am."

A shelter-in-place has been ordered for all residents within a 1-mile radius of the KMCO plant fire.

The fire appears to be mostly contained, but residents are now concerned about the air quality in the area following the explosion.