Florida gas plant explosion rocks central Florida
| Tavares, Fla.
A series of explosions rocked a central聽Florida聽propane聽gas聽plant聽and sent "boom after boom after boom" through the neighborhood around it. Several people were injured, with at least three critically injured.
All the workers at the聽plant聽were accounted for early Tuesday after officials initially could not account for more than a dozen employees.
John Herrell of the Lake County Sheriff's Office said there were no fatalities despite massive blasts that ripped through the Blue Rhino propane聽plant聽late Monday night.
"Management is comfortable saying all of those they knew were there tonight have been accounted for," he said.
One person injured in the explosion was listed in critical condition at University of聽Florida聽Health Shands Hospital. Two others were listed in critical condition at Orlando Regional Medical Center and a spokeswoman there said a third patient was en route, also listed as critical.
Herrell said some others drove themselves to area hospitals.
The Blue Rhino聽plant, which is northwest of Orlando, refilled propane tanks typically used for barbecues and other uses.
Herrell said a crew of 24 to 26 people was working at the聽plant聽on an overnight shift when the explosions occurred around 11 p.m.
Video footage on WESH-TV in Orlando showed fires burning through trucks used to transport propane tanks, which were parked at the聽plant. The fire was sending plumes of smoke into the air hours after the blast. Emergency crews could also be seen massing nearby.
Herrell said an evacuation zone was initially a one-mile radius but had been reduced to a half-mile radius. No injuries have been reported from residents in the neighborhood and residents were later allowed to return to their homes.
Marni Whitehead, 33, who lives less than a mile from the聽plant, said she was in bed ready to go to sleep when she heard a loud boom.
"It was like a car had run into my house, is what I thought had happened," she said.
She ran outside and saw other neighbors outside and then they saw the explosions.
"We knew right away it was the聽plant, the propane聽plant," Whitehead said. "After that, it was just sort of panic."
Whitehead likened the explosions to Fourth of July fireworks. "And it was just boom after boom after boom," she said.
Herrell said officials believe the fire was contained and wouldn't spread to another part of the聽plant聽but they could not guarantee that.
Herrell said the聽plant聽usually has 53,000 20-pound propane tanks.
According to the Leesburg Daily Commercial, the聽plant聽was built in 2004 and employs fewer than 50 people.
