Center of U.S. fertilizer plant explosion located: official

　　WEST, THE UNITED STATES, April 21 (Xinhua) -- The seat, or center of an explosion that blew off a fertilizer plant and almost razed the U.S. town of West had been located, a U.S. Official said Sunday.

　　Assistant Texas fire marshal Kelly Kistner told a press conference here that the locationing of the center of the explosion is important to the investigation of the the blast. But he said the cause of the fire and blast remained unknown. The explosion left a large crater in the middle of the plant, said Kistner, but declined to elaborate on the dimension of the crater or give other details.

　　Kistner confirmed that all fires at the explosion scene have been extinguished and the remaining tankers are not a danger.

　　Authorities of West on Saturday imposed a curfew and allowed some residents to return to their homes, almost two days after the explosion.

　　Steve Vanek, mayor pro tem of West, said Sunday that the re- entry of the residents went smoothly. The process "is going well and orderly," he said.

　　There will be three phases for the residents' returning, but the timeline for phase-2 and phase-3 re-entry has not decided yet, he said.

　　The powerful blast occurred around 7:50 p.m. Local time Wednesday at the fertilizer plant in West, a small town some 320 km north of Houston, Texas, killing at least 14 people and injuring about 200 others. Another 60 remained accounted for in the blast, according to local officials.

　　美官员称得州化肥厂爆炸中心点已确定

　　新华网美国韦斯特4月21日电(记者陈宇　张永兴)美国官员21日宣布，得克萨斯州韦斯特镇化肥厂爆炸事件的爆炸中心点已经确定。

　　当地消防部门官员基斯特纳当天在新闻发布会上说，确定爆炸中心点对调查事故原因“非常重要”。他说，爆炸在化肥厂中心地带炸出一个巨大的坑洞，但他没有透露坑洞的大小和深度以及其他细节。

　　基斯特纳还证实，目前化肥厂的火已完全扑灭，厂内剩下的液态氨储备罐已不再构成威胁。

　　韦斯特镇议会20日宣布在受爆炸影响地区实施宵禁，同时允许部分灾区居民返回自己住家，但对他们返回及居住作出一些规定。

　　韦斯特镇位于韦科市以北约32公里处，有居民2800人。17日晚，市中心地带的一家化肥厂突然燃起大火并发生爆炸，造成14人死亡、60人失踪、大约200人受伤，约100间住房严重受损。爆炸发生后，美国总统奥巴马和得州州长佩里分别宣布韦斯特所在的麦克伦南县处于紧急状态，为该县提供必要援助。