Prague/Washington - The majority of the victims of the fertilizer plant explosion that took place in the West community, Texas, earlier this week have Czech roots, said Czech ambassador to the USA Petr Gandalovic, who visited the town on Thursday 18 April.
"I want to express my condolences in the name of the Czech Republic to the victims and inhabitants of the small town. I also want to meet its representatives, the mayor and other people, to speak about possible assistance. We have financial resources in case of humanitarian and natural disasters. This is in the USA, so it will be financed mostly by the state of Texas, but it is necessary to say that these people are our compatriots and we should participate in the humanitarian assistance, or possibly in the development assistance. By doing this, we will express our solidarity with the people who profess their Czech origin," Gandalovic told Aktualne.cz before his visit.
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On Wednesday 17 April, the fertilizer plant in the community caught fire and eventually exploded. It is estimated that the blast killed as much as 15 people injured about 160 persons.
"Seventy percent of the families there have Czech roots. They are proud of their Czech history and ancestors," said Gandalovic, adding that one of the inhabitants of the town is his personal friend, Czech honorary consul Raymond Snokhouse.
After his visit, Gandalovic said that a search and rescue operation was still continuing in the town and that the number of victims may further increase to as much as 40. "The town was enormously hit. Practically everybody knows somebody or has a relative who has been either injured or, unfortunately, declared missing, and the hope for their survival is at this moment only slim," he said.
