At Least 20 Injured in Massive Gas Explosion at Downtown Texas Hotel
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A massive explosion at a hotel in Texas left at least 21 people injured while others were trapped in the basement and needed to be rescued on Monday, officials said.
The blast took place at the Sandman Signature Hotel at historic 20-story building in downtown Fort Worth after an apparent gas explosion, according to fire officials, The New York Post reported.
Rescue teams were desperately searching the remainder of the building for potential victims on Monday evening.
“We had reports of people trapped down in the basement, and because of the explosion that took place, some of those access areas were either covered up or it didn’t feel safe at that point to get people down into,” said Craig Trojacek, a spokesperson for the Fort Worth Fire Department.
At least 21 people were being treated for injuries in what fire officials called a “major incident.”
One person was listed in critical condition and two others were serious. The rest had minor injuries, authorities said at a news conference.
Witness Rebecca Martinez was in nearby buildings when she heard a loud crack before a wall of dust and debris sweep through the city streets
When she stepped outside to see what happened, she came upon a man and a woman leaned up against a fire hydrant.
“The man was all bloody, his face was all bloody,” Martinez said. “Then I started smelling natural gas, real intense and I thought, ‘I might need to get away from here.’”
Images from the scene showed shattered glass and splintered debris strewn out across the street.
“There was debris. There was insulation. There was office furniture,” Charlie Collier, 31, told The Associated Press. “Everything that was in the first couple floors of the building was blown out all over the street.”
The 245-room Sandman Signature Fort Worth Downtown Hotel dates to 1920, according to the hotel’s website. The building, known as “The Waggoner Building,” has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1979.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said he had been in contact with local officials following the blast and was ready to “immediately deploy any additional personnel and resources needed to keep Texans in the area safe and out of harm’s way.”