A desperate father made a heartbreaking last phone call to his wife before he died alongside his two daughters at a biofuel plant.
32-year-old Dylan Danielson was at the Horizon Biofuels plant in Fremont, Nebraska with his daughters Hayven, 12, and Fayeah, eight, on July 29. According to ABC News, the two girls were at the plant ahead of a doctor’s appointment and were waiting for their father to finish work.
Tragically a dust fire caused an explosion, causing the collapse of several parts of the building. Dylan and his two daughters were unable to escape the destruction – their bodies were located later.
Following the blast, emergency teams fought to combat the plumes of smoke and structural damage. Daniel’s body was found 24 hours later, with those of his daughters recovered the same night.
Hayven and Fayeah were step sisters, with Hayven’s step-dead, Robby Baker, recounting Dylan’s last call to his wife.
“Right after the building collapsed, he was pinned inside of it,” Baker’s harrowing recollection told KMTV News. “He made a phone call to his wife and said where the girls were at, get someone in there to get them out, and he was pinned in, and there was fire all around him.
“Our lives are in there. We need to get them out.”
A GoFundMe page set up in tribute for Hayven reads: “Hayven will always be a beautiful, goofy, caring, and bright ray of sunshine who gained her angel wings too soon. Let’s show this family some love. We love you, Hayven, and we’ll meet again.”
Meanwhile, Fayeah’s family wrote on GoFundMe: “She had such a bubbly personality and lit up every room that she entered. She was a proud Swiftie, a devoted sister, a great friend, and a creative soul who loves fashion, crafts and art.”
The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) announced on August 4 that it has launched a formal investigation into the cause of the explosion.
CSB Chairperson Steve Owens concluded: “This horrific incident should never have happened. We want to prevent a terrible tragedy like this from occurring again.”