Firefighters say there were no immediate reports of fatalities.
An explosion at a downtown Fort Worth, Texas, hotel possibly caused by a gas leak injured 21 people, sent heavy debris across a block and forced nearby employees to evacuate Monday afternoon.
Fort Worth Fire Department officials said one person is in critical condition following the explosion at the Sandman Signature Hotel, which occurred around 3:30 p.m. local time.
Debris is pictured outside the Sandman Signature Hotel in Ft. Worth, Texas, Jan. 8, 2024. WFAA
Fire department officials said a gas leak was part of the incident, but they couldn’t immediately determine if it caused the explosion.
“We do know that there was some construction that was being done down at the restaurant. We’re not 100% sure that that’s where it actually started at this point in time,” Forth Worth Fire Department spokesman Craig Trojacek told reporters at a news conference.
It was not known how many of the injured were guests at the hotel or pedestrians. Fourteen people were transported to area hospitals, according to officials.
One person who was initially unaccounted for was found during a sweep by firefighters, according to officials
Trojacek said that firefighters rescued people who were inside the hotel’s basement.
Shortly after the explosion, Firefighters were seen going through debris from the incident spread throughout the street, including window pieces and parts of the exterior.
The investigation into the cause is ongoing.
Debris is pictured outside the Sandman Signature Hotel in Ft. Worth, Texas, Jan. 8, 2024. WFAA
“We’ll talk about the structural integrity … after that, and we’re just trying to make sure that when we walk out of that building, we can definitively say that we’ve got everybody removed from that structure,” Trojacek said.
The hotel, located near the Fort Worth Convention Center, opened last May following an extensive reconversion of the Waggoner Building, a Fort Worth historical building.
The building was originally built in 1920, and “many of the original features” were retained during the conversion, according to the hotel’s website.
Gov. Greg Abbott said in a statement that he was monitoring the situation and ready to deploy additional resources if needed
Source: abcnews.go.com
