What caused the blast, so deafening its ground motion registered as an earthquake?
How many people died and how many were pulled from the charred rubble alive? And how many remain unaccounted for?
Was it the result of criminal activity?
Despite the flurry of questions, one thing is certain. The effect on the small town of West -- population 2,800 -- is massive.
The West Fertilizer Company lies in ruins on Thursday, April 18, in the town of West, Texas, after a deadly explosion the evening before damaged buildings for blocks in every direction. An estimated 35 people died in the massive blast.
A chimney is the only part of a home left standing after Wednesday's explosion.
Search and rescue workers comb through what remains of a 50-unit apartment building on April 18.
Workers clean up shattered windows at a store in West, Texas, on April 18.
Debris litters the fields around a fertilizer plant on April 18, the day after the explosion. The blast damaged 50 to 60 homes in a five-block area, officials said.
This satellite image shows West, Texas, as captured on January 30, 2012. The fertilizer plant is on the right center of the photo, just northeast of the oval track of the town's middle school.
A sheriff's deputy comforts a woman at a command post on April 18.
Remains of a fertilizer plant burn in the town of West, Texas, early on April 18.
Water is sprayed at the burning remains of the plant.
Smoke billows into the sky immediately after the explosion, as captured by iReporter Brian Kitchen.
The deadly explosion leveled dozens of homes and damaged other buildings including a school and nursing home, authorities said.
A vehicle is seen near the remains of the fertilizer plant.
With smoke rising in the distance, a law enforcement officer runs a checkpoint at the perimeter about half a mile from the plant.
Waco Police spokesman William Swanton speaks to reporters about the explosion.
Glass from blown-out windows lies shattered on the sidewalk and street after the blast.
Earth-moving equipment rolls through the downtown area in the middle of the night.
Shattered glass covers items in the front of a thrift store.
Brandon Smith removes broken glass from the West Thrift Shop on Thursday.
Workers board up a furniture shop with shattered windows on Thursday.
Source: CNN
Photos: Texas fertilizer plant explodes Photos: Texas fertilizer plant explodes
The fertilizer plant explosion Wednesday night leveled buildings, ripped up walls and threw people on the ground blocks away. About half the town was evacuated, including a nursing home with 133 residents.
Waco Police Sgt. William Patrick Swanton estimated the explosion killed five to 15 people. Authorities said more than 160 people were wounded and some residents remain missing.
It was still unclear early Friday what the exact number of casualties was. Officials are treading cautiously on providing specific numbers on victims, but fire officials confirmed some deaths among their crew.
Five West firefighters, one Dallas firefighter and four emergency responders were killed, the State Firemen's and Fire Marshals' Association of Texas said in a statement Thursday.
The blast stunned residents and left behind a trail of charred devastation in the small town.
"There's no way I would have ever dreamed that this would have happened," paramedic Bryce Reed told CNN's "AC 360."
"I mean, it's profound and it's dire, and it hurts like hell," he said. "But, you know, the main thing we wanted to convey is that ... please keep the prayers coming. Please keep the thoughts coming."
When he responded to the scene, it left him speechless, Reed said.
"I can tell you there's absolutely no words that I possess that can convey adequately what I saw," he said. "It went from my hometown and my reality and my existence to a war zone in an instant, and I haven't even had time to process that yet."
He lost some friends, all volunteer emergency workers, just like him.
"People who didn't have to go to that blast, went to that blast," he said. "People who could have stayed at home, they didn't have to go. ... they were all volunteers."
Authorities are still scouring the area for survivors -- and answers.
"We still are holding out some hope," Mayor Tommy Muska said. He said the number of casualties may rise.
The area around the site of remains "very volatile" because of the presence of ammonium nitrate, according to Matt Cawthon, chief deputy sheriff of McLennan County. Ammonium nitrate, a solid fertilizer composed of ammonia and nitrogen, is also a component of explosives widely used in mining.
The explosion tore through the roof of West Fertilizer Co., charring much of the structure and sending massive flames into the air. A deafening boom echoed for miles.
It registered as a 2.1-magnitude earthquake on the U.S. Geological Survey website.
Brad Smith felt his house shake. It's 50 miles away from the plant.
"We didn't know exactly what it was," he said. "The forecast said a line of thunderstorms was going to come through. My wife and I looked up and wondered, 'Did it get here six hours early?' "
Local authorities are working with federal officials, including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, to determine the cause of the deadly explosion.
Though there are no indications of criminal activity, Swanton said, it has not been ruled out yet.
It's unclear whether the plant had safety problems. But in 2006, the Environmental Protection Agency fined the company that ran the fertilizer plant $2,300 and told the owners to correct problems that included a failure to file a risk management program plan on time.
Seven years ago, the company had a complaint against it for a lingering smell of ammonia, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality website shows.
West is about 75 miles south of Dallas and about 20 miles north of Waco.
The blast came as the nation remains on edge following the Boston Marathon bombing on Monday that killed three and left about 180 injured.
It also coincided almost exactly with the 20th anniversary of a fire in Waco that ended a federal agents' siege against members of the Branch Davidian sect. More than 80 sect members and some federal agents died.
That anniversary is Friday.
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