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PLANTATION, Fla. – A vacant pizzeria exploded Saturday in a thunderclap in a South Florida shopping mall, wounding over 20 people as large pieces of concrete flew through the air.
The blast projected debris onto a busy Plantation Road, west of Fort Lauderdale. The restaurant was destroyed and shops and cars nearby were damaged. Although firefighters discovered broken gas pipelines later, the authorities said it was too early to determine the cause.
We will have all the latest news as the teams examine the rubble for Channel 2 Action News at 6 pm
THE LATEST: At least 20 people injured in an explosion at the Florida Mall: https://t.co/RGNMupddex pic.twitter.com/S9GGLTGA5j
– WSB-TV (@wsbtv) July 6, 2019
"We thought it was a thunderclap at first, then we felt the building shaking and things started to fall in. I looked out and I almost felt like that the world is ending, "said Alex Carver, who works in a grocery store in front of the blast. "It was crazy, man … it was crazy."
The explosion scattered large pieces of concrete up to 46 meters and sent pieces of metal up to 91 meters into the street. Carver said two of his colleagues' cars had been destroyed.
At least 21 people were injured while none of these injuries were life threatening, police sergeant. Jesica Ryan said.
The explosion demolished the building, leaving only part of its metal frame. The restaurant, called PizzaFire, had been bankrupt for several months. The blast also destroyed the windows of a popular fitness club located next to the Broward County Mall.
Jesse Walaschek had just left the fitness club with his wife and three children aged 4, 6 and 8 years old. They were parked near the restaurant and had just rolled about 45 meters (50 meters) when they heard the explosion.
"It was a massive explosion like I have never experienced it," he said.
Walasheck says that dust and debris have filled the air.
"Everything stopped, you did not see anyone, I just wanted those guys to be safe," he said, pointing to his children. "If that happened a minute ago when we put the kids in the car, it would have been really bad."
Dozens of firefighters responded to the call and could be seen rummaging through rubble with dogs sniffing through debris to make sure people were not trapped. There were no known casualties immediately after the blast.
Chief of the Fire Battalion, Joel Gordon, said that there were broken gas lines when the firefighters arrived, but he could not say for sure that it was all over the place. 39, a gas explosion.
"At that point, no one was killed, thank you, God, and even if it was serious, it could have been a lot worse," Gordon said.
Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, disseminated, rewritten or redistributed.
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