OCALA, Fla. (WSVN) — An explosion rocked a Florida shopping plaza, causing a fire at a laundromat and injuring several people.
Witnesses described the scene as unprecedented.
“It was just–we’d never seen anything like that before in our entire life. Everything was up in smoke over there,” said Norma Conwan, a Shell gas station employee who worked nearby and heard the explosion.
Firefigthers responded to the laundromat, which was engulfed in flames, and rescued four people trapped inside.
“The people who were inside were lucky,” said Ashley Lopez, the public information officer for Ocala Fire Rescue. “They’re very lucky and blessed to have been able to exit the building.”
Preliminary signs indicate a gas leak as the cause of the explosion. Reports from residents noted the smell of gas before the blast. The State Fire Marshal’s Office and inspectors are still investigating the cause.
Two of the four people inside the building were taken to the hospital, one in critical condition as a trauma patient.
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
