This is a developing story and will be updated.

The confirmed death toll from a chemical tank rupture in Longview has now climbed to two, officials said Wednesday morning, with another nine fatalities likely.

Rescue crews are working to stabilize the site following the release of tens of thousands of gallons of a caustic chemical, the Longview Fire Department said. One worker was declared dead Tuesday after being evacuated to a local hospital, and a second evacuated person was confirmed dead Wednesday.

The fire department said nine victims of the tank rupture have yet to be recovered.

“As individuals are recovered they will undergo decontamination before being transported to the Cowlitz County Coroner’s Office for identification and family notification,” the fire department said in a written statement. “The coroner’s office will release a list of names and provide a contact when all individuals have been recovered and family notifications are complete.”

Washington state Sen. Jeff Wilson, who lives in Longview, told OPB on Wednesday that it’s safe to presume the nine missing people are dead.

The chemical release at Nippon Dynawave Packaging Co. may be among Washington state’s deadliest workplace disasters since 1943, when a health center fire killed 32 people.

The mill, purchased by the Japanese company Nippon from Weyerhaeuser in 2016 for $285 million, employs about 1,000 people, according to the Washington Department of Ecology. About 550 work in pulp and paper operations, and another 450 work at its liquid packaging plant, making cardboard milk cartons and other packaging.

A 900,000-gallon tank holding white liquor, a corrosive compound that breaks wood chips into pulp to make paper, ruptured there early Tuesday morning. The structurally unstable tank still held as much as 90,000 gallons of the liquid as of Wednesday morning, creating a dangerous and challenging situation for emergency responders.

In addition to the confirmed deaths, seven people were hospitalized following the chemical release, including one firefighter.

Community leaders said there was no danger to the surrounding Cowlitz County community, although they asked people to stay clear of nearby dikes and ditches due to possible contamination.

The state Department of Ecology, which regulates air and water quality at the mill, is investigating any environmental consequences of the tank rupture.

Nippon Dynawave is a major employer in the Longview-Kelso area, where about 115,000 people live.

Tuesday’s deaths and injuries shook many people in the close-knit Cowlitz County communities. Hundreds of people gathered for a vigil in Longview Tuesday night, sharing prayers, songs and somber hope within one another.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2026/05/27/longview-paper-mill-chemical-tank-death-toll/