Adedokun Waliyu 
The death toll from a chemical spill at a paper plant in Washington State has risen to 11 after rescuers recovered the bodies of all nine missing workers.
A huge tank holding tens of thousands of gallons of a highly caustic substance imploded at a plant in Longview, Washington, triggering a major search and rescue operation.
According to fire officials, the ninth and final missing employee was recovered, bringing the total number of fatalities to 11. Earlier reports had confirmed two deaths while nine others were still missing.
The accident occurred during an early morning shift change at the Nippon Dynawave Packaging Company when a 900,000-gallon (3.4 million-liter) storage tank ruptured. The tank contained a large quantity of a substance known as white liquor.
White liquor is a highly alkaline solution made up of sodium hydroxide and sodium sulfide. It is used in the paper manufacturing process to break down wood chips and produce pulp.
Nippon Dynawave Packaging, a subsidiary of Japan’s Nippon Paper Group, manufactures billions of single-serve containers annually and supplies customers across North America, Asia, and other parts of the world.
Authorities continue to investigate the cause of the tank failure and the circumstances surrounding the deadly incident.
