Pope Francis asks world to pray for victims and families of Texas fertilizer plant explosion

WEST, Texas – The pope is using his Twitter account to ask followers to pray for victims of a fatal fertilizer plant explosion in a small Texas town.

In a message posted Thursday morning, Pope Francis said: "Please join me in praying for the victims of the explosion in Texas and their families."

The newly installed pontiff's Twitter page shows he's posted 18 tweets in the past month.

Authorities say a massive fire and explosion at a downtown fertilizer plant in West killed as many as 15 people Wednesday evening and injured more than 160 others. Several firefighters are still missing.