Fertiliser plant owner sued

A single mum and several insurance companies are suing the owner of a fertiliser plant that exploded last week, killing 14 people and destroying dozens of homes and an apartment complex in a small Texas town.

Adair Grain, Inc, the parent company of West Fertiliser Co, has been accused of negligence, in tqwo lawsuits filed in McLennan County district court.

The company "was negligent in the operation of its facility, creating an unreasonably dangerous condition, which led to the fire and explosion," said a lawsuit filed on Friday by insurance companies on behalf of individuals, two churches, and businesses including a Chevrolet car dealer and a bakery.

The cause of the fire on April 17 in West, Texas has not been confirmed.

Read: Rescuers search for survivors after Texas fertiliser plant blast

The first group of people who fled their homes when a fertiliser plant exploded in the town of West in Texas are to be allowed to return.

"It is safe, safe and safe," city council member Steve Vanek told a news conference, adding that a curfew had been put in place for residents.

Residents displaced by the massive fertiliser plant explosion in Texas have been told by officials that tanks on the site are leaking gas and causing small fires.

The fires are reported to be contained, but they are preventing those who live nearby from returning to their homes in the town of West.

Paramedic Bryce Reed, also a spokesman for West said he leaks were caused by tanks damaged by heat and had triggered small fires. He said no further evacuations were necessary.

Google has captured before and after photographs that highlight the devastation caused by the explosion of a fertiliser plant in West, Texas.14 people are reported to have died following the blast on Wednesday and approximately 200 people were injured.

Two more bodies have been recovered after the fertiliser plant explosion in West, Texas, law enforcement officials told the Associated Press.

A Texas state official has confirmed that 12 people died as a result of an explosion at a fertiliser plant in the Texan town of West. Approximately 200 people were injured.

Aerial pictures show the extend of destruction after the massive explosion which destroyed a fertiliser plant in Texas.

Very little remains on the site and investigators picking through the debris appear dwarfed by the amount of debris.

Fourteen people are now confirmed dead and five firefighters are missing following the explosion at the fertiliser factory in the town of West near Waco in Texas.

Rescue teams are still searching for survivors in the dozens of buildings destroyed in the blast, Daybreak's Lucy Watson reports.

The death toll following an explosion at a fertiliser plant in the Texas town of West has reached 14 people, Mayor Tommy Muska has said.

The figure includes four emergency medical technicians, who were killed in the blast as they rushed to put out a fire at the plant.

Five volunteer firefighters are officially listed as missing but feared dead, Mr Muska said.