Fort Worth fire officials on Tuesday asked the public to stop creating false narratives regarding the cause of the downtown Fort Worth hotel explosion that injured 21 people.
On Tuesday afternoon, Fort Worth Fire Chief James Davis told reporters that “significant damage” occurred on two floors of the historic 20-story Sandman Signature Hotel during Monday afternoon’s blast.
The explosion shattered windows and blew doors and sections of walls into the street. The hotel is situated on Houston Street in a busy section of downtown, a few blocks away from City Hall and the Fort Worth Convention Center.
“There is a smell of gas in the area, and there are windows and things that were blown outside of the structure,” Fort Worth Fire Department spokesman Craig Trojaceck told reporters during a press conference on Monday evening.
Fourteen of the 21 victims were transported to a local hospital, according to authorities. Four were seriously injured, and one was critical.
Cause Still Under Investigation
Fire officials are working with state and federal investigators and Atmos Energy to determine the cause of the explosion, which authorities believe was caused by a natural gas leak.“We are working with officials to confirm the cause of the explosion,” the fire department said on Facebook. “We have stated that it has the characteristics of a natural gas explosion and continue to state that until a confirmation of cause can be determined.”
Chief Davis confirmed that the exact cause is still not known.
The area around the hotel is considered a “hot zone” and has remained closed to the public while the investigation and cleanup continue. According to the fire chief, it could take several days before the entire area reopens.
On Monday, rescuers found several people trapped in the basement of the hotel, where the Asian fusion restaurant Musume is located. The fire department said the restaurant was undergoing construction when the incident occurred at about 3:30 p.m. local time.
“We do know there was some construction that was being done down at the restaurant,” Mr. Trojaceck continued. “We’re not 100 percent sure that that’s where it actually started at this point.”
One man working nearby said he saw a large flash and heard a noise that sounded like thunder.
“There was debris. There was insulation. There was office furniture,” Charlie Collier said. “Everything that was in the first couple floors of the building was blown out all over the street,” he said.
By evening, officials said they believed everyone had been accounted for, but search and rescue crews continued to scour the rubble with dogs, looking for additional victims overnight and on Tuesday.
No other victims were found.
It is not immediately clear when the hotel expects to reopen.
The Sandman Signature Hotel did not respond to The Epoch Times’ request for information.
Adam Woods, a valet walking in the area at the time of the explosion, told KXAS-TV that there was “smoke everywhere.”
“I was three to five seconds from turning down the street,” Mr. Woods said. “It could have been me.”
The restaurant had no diners, but more than two dozen hotel rooms were occupied when the blast happened.
“We appreciate your cooperation in sharing only factual information and refraining from creating any dialogue that contradicts what highly trained professionals on scene of the incident are finding,” the fire officials said.
The investigation is ongoing.
