The investigation continues after 21 people were injured in an explosion that was likely caused by a gas leak at a hotel in downtown Fort Worth on Monday afternoon, fire officials say.
The incident happened at about 3:30 p.m. at the Sandman Signature Fort Worth Downtown Hotel at the corner of W. 8th and Houston Streets.
The blast flung doors and entire sections of wall, glass, and other debris onto the road in front of the 20-story hotel, where authorities said rescue crews found several people trapped in the basement.
The one person who was reported to be missing was found as the Fort Worth Fire Department gave an update. Firefighters did a second pass-through of the building.
The Fort Worth Police Department confirms that the building is fully evacuated and there are no more missing people or bodies found. They also state that in its condition, the hotel will not fully collapse.
Fifteen people were taken to area hospitals, including six whose conditions were described as “semi-critical” by MedStar. No fatalities were recorded. FWPD also say as of right now, no children were involved with the explosion or surround area.
Officials said the explosion was likely caused by a gas leak, but they were waiting to confirm that detail. Some witnesses described smelling the tell-tale odor of natural gas in the vicinity before and after the explosion.
Police and fire officials asked the public to avoid the area as the investigation and cleanup continues.
Several streets will remain closed, according to the Fort Worth Fire Department, including:
- Throckmorton St. closed from W 7th St. to W 9th St.
- Houston St. closed from W 7th St. to W 9th St.
- W 8th St. closed from Throckmorton to Main St.
Craig Trojacek, a spokesman for the Fort Worth Fire Department, said a restaurant in the building had been under construction but said it was not definitive that is where the blast occurred.
"I was getting cash at the Frost Bank, and I heard something that appeared to sound like thunder or a very, very loud explosion that shook the glass," one bystander told KRLD. "Then I saw a bit of smoke toward the convention center area, and that's all that I really know."
"We were all just really minding our own business, and then we felt the entire building just shake violently, and our neon signs in the front were about to fall off," another bystander said. "And then we ran outside and it's like you couldn't see the other side of the street. It's just covered in smoke, covered in dust."
Technicians from Atmos Energy were examining the blast site Monday. A spokesperson for the Railroad Commission of Texas, the state's oil and gas regulator, said an agency inspector was also on the scene and working with local authorities.
Northland Properties Co., the Canadian company that owns the hotel, said in a statement that it was working with officials to determine how the explosion occurred and how much damage it caused.
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