Death Toll from Washington Chemical Tank Collapse Rises to 11

The death toll from a chemical storage tank collapse at a paper manufacturing facility in Washington state has risen to 11 after rescue teams recovered the bodies of nine workers who had been reported missing, local authorities confirmed on Sunday.

The incident occurred at a plant operated by Nippon Dynawave Packaging in the city of Longview. Officials had previously confirmed two fatalities immediately following the collapse, while search operations continued for several days amid the wreckage.

Emergency crews worked around the clock to locate the missing individuals, using drones and specialised equipment to search the damaged facility and surrounding areas.

The collapsed tank reportedly contained approximately 900,000 gallons (3.4 million litres) of white liquor, a chemical solution widely used in paper production. The substance primarily consists of sodium hydroxide and sodium sulphide, both of which are highly corrosive industrial chemicals.

Authorities said environmental testing detected some contaminants reaching the nearby Columbia River. However, officials stressed that no adverse effects have been identified in local air quality or drinking water supplies in Longview.

Investigators are continuing to examine the cause of the collapse, while workplace safety officials assess whether any regulatory violations contributed to the disaster.

Nippon Paper Industries, Japan’s second-largest paper producer by sales, acquired the Longview facility from Weyerhaeuser for $225 million and established its wholly owned subsidiary, Nippon Dynawave Packaging, in 2016.