Over 100 injured in jail blast in the United States
Extensive flooding during heavy rains might be a factor for gas explosion
Pensacola (US): A gas explosion at a jail in the Florida Panhandle has injured 100 to 150 inmates and corrections officers, a county spokeswoman said.
The explosion happened in Escambia County jail’s booking facility and caused the building to partially collapse, said Kathleen Castro, the county’s public information manager.
About 600 inmates were in the building at the time, she said.
Ms Castro didn’t know if flooding in the area was a factor but says the jail did get extensive flooding during heavy rains that have drenched the region on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The injured were brought to hospitals and the uninjured inmates were brought to jails in neighbouring counties, Ms Castro said.
Spokespeople at Sacred Heart Hospital and West Florida Hospital in Pensacola said the injuries they treated were all relatively minor.