Episcopal Relief and Development is providing emergency relief for families affected by the explosion at the West Pharmaceutical Services plant in Kinston, North Carolina, on January 29. An explosion in a four-story chemical mixing area killed four people. Thirty-seven people were injured and nine suffered critical injuries from second- and-third-degree burns and fractured bones. The roof and doors of the factory were blown hundreds of feet and trees surrounding the facility were set ablaze.

"The two hundred and twenty-five employees of the company who worked at the plant have all lost their jobs," says the Rt. Rev. Clifton Daniel III, Bishop of East Carolina. "[This has] exacerbated the economic and employment difficulties already being experienced here in Kinston," states Bishop Daniel.

Episcopal Relief and Development has given $10,000 in emergency assistance to the Diocese of East Carolina for food and clothing and financial support to injured victims' families and unemployed workers of the plant.