9 missing after Washington paper mill tank rupture and officials say
there's no hope of survivors
[May 28, 2026]
By CLAIRE RUSH
LONGVIEW, Wash. (AP) — Crews resumed the grim search Wednesday for nine
people presumed killed at a Washington state paper mill where a chemical
tank ruptured a day earlier in one of the deadliest U.S. workplace
accidents in years.
The likely death toll rose to 11, including the missing, after another
person who was injured died, authorities said Wednesday.
Authorities said there was no hope of finding more survivors following
Tuesday's tank failure at the Nippon Dynawave Packaging Co. in Longview,
which also injured another eight people, including a firefighter who was
treated and released by a hospital.
If the 11 deaths are confirmed, it would be one of the deadliest
industrial accidents in the U.S. in recent decades — alongside a series
of blasts that killed 16 people at an explosives plant in Tennessee last
fall; a fire and detonation that killed 14 people at a fertilizer plant
in Texas in 2013; the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion that killed 11
people in 2010; and an explosion at a West Virginia coal mine that
killed 29 people in 2010.
Officials said Wednesday that the paper mill tank spilled more than
500,000 gallons (1.9 million liters) of “white liquor,” a highly
destructive chemical mixture used in paper manufacturing.
After delaying the search over concerns that the tank might collapse
further, crews determined it contained less liquid than initially
thought and that the tank was stable enough to resume efforts to find
the missing. Fire officials said the search will be slow and methodical.
“We do not know where all nine are," said Scott Goldstein, a Cowlitz
County fire chief.
Authorities said the rupture hasn't affected the safety of the air and
drinking water in Longview, a Columbia River city of about 40,000 people
with long ties to the Washington and Oregon paper and lumber industries.
Some contamination had reached the Columbia River, one of North
America’s largest waterways, but the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency reported that no effects on the river had been observed.
Officials warned residents to keep away from ditches and dikes.
It was the second notable issue with a chemical tank in days on the West
Coast, following the evacuation of thousands of Southern California
residents due to an overheated tank at an aerospace plant before those
orders were lifted Tuesday night.
The paper mill tank could hold about 900,000 gallons (3.4 million
liters) and was more than half full when it ruptured, Goldstein said.
White liquor, which is made mostly of sodium hydroxide and sodium
sulfide, is used with heat to break down wood to make kraft paper, a
durable material used in packaging, shopping bags and other products.
The sprawling plant, which employs about 1,000 people, makes material
for tissues, printing paper, cups, plates, and cartons. It sits along
the river next to other timber, paper and chemical businesses.
Paper mill worker was always there to help, friend says
The rupture happened at shift change Tuesday morning, causing the huge
circular tank to buckle on one side. The cause remained unclear.
Authorities haven't released the names of the dead or missing, but some
have begun to trickle out.
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Gov. Bob Ferguson speaks during a press conference after a Nippon
Dynawave Packaging Co., tank imploded on Tuesday, May 26, 2026, in
Longview, Wash. (Karen Ducey/The Seattle Times via AP)
Todd Cornwell said his friend, Gilbert Bernal, was an electrician at
the plant and was the first confirmed death. They knew each other
through church and were in the same Bible study group, he said.
“We actually had our group last night and instead of doing Bible
study, we talked about him,” Cornwell said. “He was always there
willing to help in whatever needed to be done. When the local church
school started flooding, he was one of the people there.”
Brian Williquette, a chemical supplier for the region’s mills, was
at the plant Tuesday morning when he heard an alarm over the
intercom and first wondered if it was drill. He was able to get out
safely and didn’t see any of the damage.
“It’s just unfathomable,” he said at a community vigil Tuesday.
“There’s not anybody that lives here that doesn’t know somebody at a
paper mill.”
Crystal Moldenhauer, a Longview resident, said she has friends at
the plant who remained unaccounted for. She said people called and
texted each other all day trying to figure out what happened.
“We’re all still waiting for answers,” she said. “There’s families
that have been torn apart, and we don’t know why.”
Authorities press for answers about the rupture
Nippon Paper Group in a statement said Wednesday that it was
offering its “deepest condolences and heartfelt sympathies to the
bereaved families.”
Some of those who were injured suffered burns or inhalation
injuries, authorities said.
Following the tank's rupture, the liquid spilled into a drainage
ditch, said Brittny Goodsell, a state Ecology Department
spokesperson.
Almost every industry uses chemical tanks like this and they are
generally quite safe, said Stephen Kmiotek, a chemical engineering
professor at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. But it’s important
that companies keep up proper maintenance and inspections,
particularly after the tanks get older, he said.
The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board on Wednesday
announced an investigation. Its chairperson, Steve Owens, said the
goal was to “determine how it happened and what can be done to
prevent something like this from happening again.”
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Associated Press reporters Gene Johnson and Hallie Golden in
Seattle, Kathy McCormack in Concord New Hampshire, Rebecca Boone in
Boise, Idaho, John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio, and Christopher L. Keller
in Albuquerque, New Mexico, contributed.
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