Explosion at Texas hotel leaves 21 injured, investigation points towards potential gas leak
During the explosion, guests occupied 26 rooms in the hotel, and construction work was ongoing in the building. Fire department spokesman Craig Trojack elucidated, "It's not yet clear whether this work had any role in the explosion." Rescue workers freed several people who were trapped in the basement of the 20-story building.
4:56 AM EST, January 9, 2024
Authorities propose that a natural gas leak may have caused the explosion, but the cause of the incident is still under investigation.
Details provided by the AP agency report that the force of the explosion threw doors and entire sections of walls into the street outside the 20-story hotel. Charlie Collier, a 31-year-old working nearby, described the event, "Everything on the first few floors of the building was flung across the entire street. I saw a large flash and heard something like a tremendous thunder."
Another witness, Rebecca Martinez, shared with the Associated Press that she heard a loud crack and saw a wall of dust and debris rising over the city streets. Upon investigating, she encountered a man and a woman leaning against a fire hydrant, who appeared to be victims of the event.
Martinez stated, "The man was covered in blood, with blood all over his face. Soon after, I smelled an intense odor of natural gas." Shortly after this, authorities began evacuating residents from nearby buildings.
