There was a massive explosion at a restaurant in an upscale shopping center in Kansas City last night.
At least 19 people were injured.
City Manager Troy Schulte said it appeared an accident by a utility contractor had caused the blast.
WZZM reported:
A gas explosion triggered a massive fire at an upscale shopping center in Kansas City, Mo., Tuesday evening, injuring more than a dozen people, a city official said.
Kansas City Manager Troy Schulte said 14 people have been injured. He said officials don’t yet know if there were any fatalities, but cadaver dogs are searching the blast site.
Kansas City Fire Chief Paul Berardi said the search for victims could take hours.
“I would always fear there are fatalities in a scene like this,” Berardi said during a news conference Tuesday night. “When we got to the scene, we had a fully involved restaurant that had patrons, probably several patrons, inside at the time of incident.”
Authorities said that at least three of the people sustained critical injuries.
Authorities are still investigating the cause of the blast, which appeared to have engulfed an entire block in flames.
A search continued today for one employee still missing after the blast.