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Prayer Vigil in West for Blast Victims

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WEST, Texas - Hundreds of well-wishers attended a non-denominational church service to pray for victims of the fertilizer blast in West, Texas.

Several hundred people on Thursday night packed St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church in downtown West.

The prayers and hymn were to honor first responders who are missing after that plant fire Wednesday night.  They ignored their own safety and rushed to put out that fire at the West Fertilizer Company.  But thirty minutes after arriving on the scene, the blaze turned into a huge explosion and a mushroom cloud of smoke.

Those firefighters are now missing, and at least one of them has been confirmed dead.  Officials are still saying they expect the death toll to be between 5 and 15 people.

Hundreds of white candles were distributed in the pews for the candlelight tribute.