In an update on Friday morning, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said the two victims were removed from the scene and transported to the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences.
HCSO confirmed that team members went into the scene overnight, and so far, no additional victims have been found.
The leak happened around 4:40 p.m. Thursday at the Pemex facility off Highway 225.
Emergency responders waited until the chemical levels dropped low enough for investigators to safely enter the unit at the center of the leak.
ORIGINAL REPORT: 2 dead, at least 35 injured after chemical release reported at refinery in Deer Park, officials say
2 dead, at least 35 injured after chemical release reported at refinery in Deer Park, officials say
Authorities confirmed two employees were killed and another 35 were exposed to the chemical. It's unclear how serious those exposures were.
The chemical, hydrogen sulfide, is a colorless gas known for its pungent "rotten egg" odor at low concentrations. It is extremely flammable and highly toxic and can cause mild headaches, eye irritation, unconsciousness, and death -- even at low concentrations.
Neighbors said they were smelling "rotten eggs" from miles away on Thursday.
So far, the cause of the leak is still unknown.
"Some workers were working on a flange of some kind when there was a gas leak of H2S, which was hydrogen sulfide," Gonzalez said. "We believe, at this point, that there's two persons deceased on scene."
This was the second scare for people in Deer Park in less than four weeks. A pipeline fire last month burned for four days.
The shelter-in-place orders that were put in effect for Deer Park and Pasadena around 6:30 p.m. Thursday have since been lifted.
ABC13 spoke to residents of both Deer Park and Pasadena, who said they were completely unaware of what was happening and are questioning why no alerts were sent to their phones.
The City of Deer Park acknowledged in a social media post that their emergency alert system was having issues and some people may not have received the notifications.
As for Pasadena, we are still trying to get more clarity into why some people claim they heard nothing.
ABC13 spoke to some people at a bowling alley who were not pleased that they had no idea that a dangerous chemical had been leaked into the air.
"I was at work and I had no idea. I found out through Facebook and I was like, 'I wonder if any of my loved ones could have been harmed or anything like that.' It kind of reminded me of the ITC fires. It kind of gave me flashbacks," one resident said.
ABC13 checked into Pemex's enviornmental record with the EPA. We were only able to find one violation from 2022, and it was for the "Lead and Copper Rule." The violation was listed as resolved.
Pemex, which is based in Mexico, has not yet said anything about how the leak happened. The refinery processes crudes from several countries. They produce a range of products including gasoline, aviation fuel, diesel fuel, and ship fuel.