Pope Francis on Thursday called on his followers on Twitter to pray for the families of victims of a deadly blast in a Texas fertilizer plant, which left between five and 15 people dead and over 160 injured.
"Please join me in praying for the victims of the explosion in Texas and their families," the Argentinian pope tweeted in English.
The blast in the small town of West, near Waco, stoked anxiety in a nation already on edge after the nerve-jangling Boston marathon bombings, which left three dead.
An apartment complex and a nursing home were destroyed, local residents flooded into emergency shelters, and at least 100 patients were hospitalized following the blast.
