An explosion and fire at a Nebraska plant are preventing a search for 3 missing people

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Firefighters in eastern Nebraska battled a fire for hours following an explosion Tuesday at a wood pellet manufacturing plant, but authorities said they have been unable to get close enough to search for three people believed to be missing.

The explosion happened at the Horizon Biofuels plant, which makes animal bedding and wood pellets for heating and smoking food, on the south end of Fremont, Nebraska.

Fremont Mayor Joey Spellerberg said three individuals were in the building, but “that's all we can say at this point,” he said in a briefing Tuesday afternoon.

“We’re working with the state patrol as well as the state of Nebraska and other groups to assess the building and the structure of the building to where, again, we can be able to get in,” Spellerberg said.

Fremont Fire Chief Todd Bernt said first responders were up against “heavy smoke and a lot of flames" when they first arrived on scene. The first call reporting the explosion came in just before noon, according to Spellerberg.

Photos taken after the explosion show the top of the facility's tall tower — marked by a distinctive sunbeam logo of the former owner, Golden Sun Feeds — torn off, exposing mangled metal and ripped siding. Debris littered the ground below.

The facility uses tons of wood waste to manufacture their wood fuel pellets. An overnight fire at the building in 2014 had damaged the electrical system but left the structure in tact, according to reporting by the Fremont Tribune. A fire captain said at the time that the building has a “cement structure on the outside and the metal frame is tied into that.”

Bernt said they believe the facility stores wood and some alcohol-based materials.

Dodge County Attorney Pamela Hopkins, who also serves as the county coroner, said law enforcement and first responders were busy securing the scene Tuesday afternoon and had not yet contacted her in her role as coroner. She added that she was hoping not to get that call.

“Right now, we're focused on the safety of the community and getting the situation under control — keeping the scene secure,” Hopkins said. She declined to comment further.

Fremont, a city of about 27,000 and the sixth-largest in Nebraska, is located 32 miles (52 kilometers) northwest of Omaha, Nebraska. The site of the explosion is surrounded by other manufacturing and food processing plants.

Taylor Kirklin, who lives about a half mile (0.8 kilometers) from the building, said her whole house shook Tuesday. She said the explosion was so loud that she thought someone had driven into the lobby of her family's dog kennel business on the property.

“I got up and looked outside and there was a huge plume of smoke," she said. “We were really unsure when the explosion happened which plant it was because there are so many in that area."

In this image taken from video provided by KETV, police and firefighters respond to the scene of an explosion in Fremont, Neb., Tuesday, July 29, 2025. (KETV via AP)

A drone is seen above as firefighters battle a fire after an explosion in an industrial area in Fremont, Neb., Tuesday, July 29, 2025. (Chris Machian/Omaha World-Herald via AP)

Firefighters battle a fire after an explosion in an industrial area in Fremont, Neb., Tuesday, July 29, 2025. (Chris Machian/Omaha World-Herald via AP)

Firefighters battle a fire after an explosion in an industrial area in Fremont, Neb., Tuesday, July 29, 2025. (Chris Machian/Omaha World-Herald via AP)

Firefighters battle a fire after an explosion in an industrial area in Fremont, Neb., Tuesday, July 29, 2025. (Chris Machian/Omaha World-Herald via AP)

DODOMA, Tanzania (AP) — Tanzania’s president has, for the first time since the disputed October election, commented on a six-day internet shutdown as the country went through its worst postelection violence.

President Samia Suluhu Hassan on Thursday expressed “sympathy” to diplomats and foreign nationals living in the country, saying the government would strive to ensure there is never a repeat of the same.

Hassan won the October election with more than 97% of the vote after candidates from the two main opposition parties were barred from running and the country’s main opposition leader remained in prison facing treason charges.

Violence broke out on election day and went on for days as the internet was shut down amid a heavy police crackdown that left hundreds of people dead, according to rights groups.

Hassan blamed the violence on foreigners and pardoned hundreds of young people who had been arrested, saying they were acting under peer pressure.

Speaking to ambassadors, high commissioners and representatives of international organizations on Thursday in the capital, Dodoma, she sought to reassure envoys of their safety, saying the government would remain vigilant to prevent a repeat of the disruption.

“To our partners in the diplomatic community and foreigners residing here in Tanzania, I express my sincere sympathy for the uncertainty, service restrictions and internet shutdowns you experienced,” she said.

Hassan defended her administration, saying the measures were taken to preserve constitutional order and protect citizens.

“I assure you that we will remain vigilant to ensure your safety and prevent any recurrence of such experiences,” the president told diplomats on Thursday.

Tanzania has, since the October elections, established a commission of inquiry to look into the violence that left hundreds dead and property worth millions of shillings destroyed in a country that has enjoyed relative calm for decades.

Foreign observers said the election failed to meet democratic standards because key opposition figures were barred.

FILE - Tanzania's President Samia Suluhu Hassan delivers remarks during a campaign rally ahead of the general elections in Iringa, Tanzania, Oct. 5, 2025. (AP Photo, File)