Good Morning America was halted for a breaking news alert (Image: ABC)
Good Morning America issued a major alert, halting its usual programming for breaking news from Southern California. US reporter Alex Stone was live on the scene in Cypress, CA, where around 50,000 people were forced to evacuate after a chemical tank leak. He revealed: “This has been a slow-moving disaster, but there is a glimmer of hope with firefighters saying there’s at least one crack in the side of the tank that could be relieving the pressure, that could bring down the danger here.”
During the breaking alert, a clip of firefighters rushing towards the tank aired, with a voiceover revealing that the crews worked throughout the night to prevent the tank from exploding. “This comes after a specialised team was able to get close enough to that 7000-gallon tank full of hazardous liquid. According to wdhn.com, the tank overheated on Thursday (May 21) and began venting vapours.
The 7000-gallon tank began leaking vapours on Thursday (Image: ABC)
It was also reported that firefighters repeatedly sprayed the tank with water to cool the chemical inside, methyl methacrylate, which is used to make plastic parts.
As a result, Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency on Saturday (May 24) and said he asked President Donald Trump to issue an emergency declaration to bolster federal support for local and state officials.
On Friday, the Orange County Fire Authority Division Chief Craig Covey said: “This thing is going to fail, and we don’t know when. We’re doing our best to figure out when or how we can prevent it.”
The tank at GKN Aerospace Transparency Systems, which makes parts for commercial and military aircraft, holds 6,000 to 7,000 gallons (22,700 to 26,500 litres) of methyl methacrylate used to make plastic parts.
More than 50,000 locals were evacuated (Image: ABC)
In addition to the tank failing and releasing the deadly liquid or gas, another major concern was that it could explode into a giant fireball, potentially triggering other tanks to explode, as well.
Alex returned to screens and explained: “Overnight, firefighters have been undergoing what they call a high-risk operation, physically going in to look at the crack and to get readings on the pressure. If the pressure has been reduced, some of the evacuation orders could be lifted today.”
No injuries or deaths have been reported, authorities said.
