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Houston chemical fire leaves one dead, 2 critically injured

An explosion and fire at a chemical plant northeast of Houston left one person dead and two battling for their lives, just two weeks after a blaze at an oil storage facility caused thousands of gallons of petrochemicals to flow into the city’s shipping channel.

Plumes of black smoke that could be seen 25 miles away began to subside at about 1:30 p.m. local time as firefighters fought to contain the blaze. The priority is to make sure it doesn't spread to other tanks containing flammable materials, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said at a press conference.

"This still a dynamic situation," he said.