A hotel explosion shook downtown Fort Worth, Texas, on Monday afternoon, leaving at least 21 injured and prompting a swift response from emergency crews.
The explosion blew out the windows of the historic Sandman Hotel located on Houston Street, near the city hall, at around 3:30 p.m. local time, leaving sizable debris piles on the streets.
It has been reported that the hotel was in operation during the explosion, with 26 rooms occupied.
At least 21 people were injured, including one in critical condition and two more in serious condition, the Fort Worth Fire Department said on X, formerly Twitter. One person had been declared missing but was later found.
Of the 21 injured, 19 were treated on the scene, one took themselves to an area hospital, and no casualties have been reported, Fort Worth Fire Department spokesman Craig Trojacek told reporters at a news conference on Monday evening.
Crews rescued people from the hotel’s basement who weren’t able to get out on their own, he said.
“We do know that there was some construction that was being done down at the restaurant,” he added. “We’re not 100 percent sure that that’s where it actually started at this point in time.”
Mr. Trojacek said that the scene remains active, and collaborative efforts with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and FBI, particularly their arson and bomb division, are ongoing.
According to Sara Abel, a spokesperson for the ATF, investigators attribute the explosion to natural gas. The fire department said on X that this had not yet been confirmed as the cause.
News helicopters captured images of firefighters navigating through heaps of drywall, shattered glass, and twisted metal strewn across the street outside the hotel.
Crews have been working to extinguish the fire and evacuate the building.
Officials from the city, police, and fire departments asked the general public to avoid the area while emergency crews work and said updates can be found via the #FWDowntownAlert hashtag on X.
“There is a smell of gas in the area and there are windows and things that were blown outside of the structure,” said Craig Trojacek, a spokesman for the Fort Worth Fire Department.
Images circulating on social media show debris in the street outside the building. It appeared sections of the building’s facade had been ripped off in the blast.
The fire department said that construction activities were reportedly underway in the building at the time of the incident.
Fort Worth Police designated Sundance Square, situated at 420 Main St., as the family reunification area, according to Mr. Trojacek. For those unable to contact their loved ones, Lot 15 in the Sundance Square parking lot is advised.
