Multiple Explosions Rock Florida Gas Plant, Some Workers Missing

At least four people are feared dead and two others are critically injured after a series of frightening explosions turned a Florida gas plant into a fire ball overnight on Monday.

John Herrell of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office said early Tuesday that 15 people who worked at the Blue Rhino propane plant were still unaccounted for. Herrell’s news conference was carried live by WNET.

 

The explosions were strong enough to blow the roof off and were felt by residents living up to 10 miles away from the scene.

Seven workers have been taken to hospital, while two employees managed to escape unharmed. None of the people living near the Blue Rhino plant have been injured.

He said a crew of 24 to 26 people were working at the plant on an overnight shift when the explosions occurred late Monday. He said seven people were injured and transported to a local hospital and two employees escaped unharmed.

The fire was sending plumes of smoke into the air nearly two 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.

Herrell said officials believe the fire is contained and won’t spread to another part of the plant but they cannot guarantee that.

Bryan Koon, director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, said he was still getting “preliminary information” from local authorities.

The blasts began about 11 p.m.

Herrell said the plant usually has 53,000 20-pound propane tanks.

According to the Leesburg Daily Commercial, the plant was built in 2004 and employs fewer than 50 people.