At least 18 thousand cows died in an explosion at a dairy farm

Smoke rises from dairy farms in Southfork. milking parlor on a farm in Texas after a powerful explosion.

A livestock death at a South Fork dairy was the largest livestock death in the United States since the Washington Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) began monitoring barn and farm fires in 2013.

On Monday, firefighters were called to the area near Dimmitt, where they found a farm worker stuck inside a building. The woman was taken to a hospital in Lubbock, where she remained in critical condition.

Authorities investigating the cause of the fire were stunned to find thousands of cattle carcasses on the property. By Thursday, they counted 18,000 people.

Credit: Reuters

The cows were in the milking pen before the fire broke out, Castro. This was reported to the American media at the county sheriff's office. Investigators suspect that faulty equipment led to the fire.

"This is a devastating loss that will affect many" Castro County Judge Mandy Gfeller told CNN.

"While the loss of so many animals and property is devastating, I am so grateful that there were no human casualties. I pray for the restoration of the South Fork Dairy Farm"

It was «By far the deadliest cattle barn fire overall and the most destructive barn fire in Texas since we started keep track of barn fires. in 2013" AWI told Fox News Digital.

"We hope the industry will continue to pay attention to this issue and urge farmers to take reasonable fire safety measures" Ellie Granger of AWI said. "It's hard to imagine anything worse than being burned alive"