In the largest known single-incident death of cattle, around 18,000 cows were killed in a massive explosion at a dairy farm in West Texas that resulted in a huge fire.

The incident was reported at the South Fork Dairy Farm in Dimmitt on Monday.

Immense clouds of black smoke filled the air above the dairy farm for hours as officials worked to subdue the fire.

Post the incident, it was revealed that around 18,000 cattle died, which is nearly three times the amount of cows slaughtered each day in the US. Most of the cows that died were a mix of Holstein and Jersey cows and represented approximately 90 percent of the farm’s total herd.

The cows were huddled together in a holding pen, waiting to be milked, when the explosion occurred.

Fortunately, no human casualties were reported in the incident, though one dairy farm worker was rescued and taken to the hospital.

The cause of the explosion is however not ascertained so far. However it is suspected that it could have been due to a malfunction in a piece of equipment.

Notably, South Fork Dairy Farm is located in Castro County which is one of the highest dairy-producing counties in Texas. Castro County has more than 30,000 cattle in it, according to Texas’ 2021 Annual Dairy Review.

The incident is the largest single-incident death of cattle since the Animal Welfare Institute, an animal advocacy organisation, began tracking barn fires in 2013.