This is a developing story and will be updated.
The Washington state flag, American flag and Nippon Dynawave flags fly at half-staff while flowers mark a makeshift memorial on old mill equipment in front of Nippon Dynawave Packaging Co. for the victims of the May 26 chemical disaster, in Longview, Wash., on May 29, 2026.
Eli Imadali / OPB
Officials said Saturday they have retrieved the remains of the final victims trapped inside a Longview, Washington, paper mill after a deadly chemical tank rupture, bringing the confirmed death toll from the disaster to 11.
“This is a horrific tragedy that has profoundly impacted our community,” Cowlitz County Coroner Dana Tucker said at a briefing Saturday where she shared the names of the deceased.
The mill disaster was “one of the most significant tragedies our community has experienced since the eruption of Mount St. Helens,” she said.
“These were fathers, sons, mentors and community members who helped build this facility and this community every single day,” Kurt Stich, deputy chief of Cowlitz 2 Fire & Rescue, said, holding back tears as he described the challenging recovery efforts.
As the community mourns, local, state and federal officials have also been working to contain the environmental damage outside the Nippon Dynawave Packaging Co.
Dead fish, tadpoles and other small wildlife have died from chemical exposure, and crews continue to flush water through a network of ditches to dilute contamination.
The investigation into the cause of the rupture can intensify now that all of the victims have been removed from the paper mill, authorities said. The U.S. Chemical Safety Board arrived on site Wednesday, and pressure is mounting on local and federal officials for answers on what went wrong.
Related: ‘Something dramatically wrong’: Questions but few answers after Longview mill tragedy
For many residents in Longview, one of the biggest questions is the fate of the Nippon Dynawave facility, which has been the site of a mill since a year after Longview was first incorporated a century ago.
Paper mills are part of the heart of Longview, said Rose Scattergood, who helped organize a community barbecue Saturday to raise funds for the families of the dead.
Related: Longview mill tragedy highlights dangerous nature of wood product manufacturing
“My main worry is, is this gonna shut down the mills, you know, for permanently or indefinitely? And then, you know, how do we turn that around? What do we do next?”
Flowers and chalk spelling out “Longview Strong” mark a makeshift memorial on old mill equipment in front of Nippon Dynawave Packaging Co. for victims of the May 26 chemical disaster in Longview, Wash., on May 29, 2026.
Eli Imadali / OPB
