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All workers found after Florida blasts

There have been a series of huge explosions at a propane gas plant in Florida. The blasts took pl...
Newstalk
Newstalk

06.00 30 Jul 2013


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All workers found after Florid...

All workers found after Florida blasts

Newstalk
Newstalk

06.00 30 Jul 2013


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There have been a series of huge explosions at a propane gas plant in Florida.

The blasts took place inside the building in the town of Tavares and blew the roof off.

A number of workers have reportedly been injured in the blast but all are now believed to be accounted for.

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Amateur footage from nearby shows the sheer scale of the explosion.

Witnesses describe explosion

24 people were understood to have been working the night shift, according to Tavares City Administrator John Drury

The Lake County sheriff, who has been speaking to reporters close to the scene, said all the explosions happened inside the plant and were strong enough to blow the roof off the building.

Local business-owner Jim Mamula describes hearing the blast.

Flames seen from five miles away

"I heard a loud bomb sound," resident Lisa Garner told the Orlando Sentinel. "I thought somebody had run into my house."

Flames from the blasts could be seen more than five miles away and could be felt as far away as Mount Dora. Evacuation orders have been put in place for residents living within one mile of the plant.

Five helicopters landed at LakeTech Institute of Public Safety, according to public-safety scanner transmissions. They took patients to Lakeland Regional Medical Center, St. Joseph Medical Center in Ocala, Orlando Regional Medical Center and Tampa General Hospital. At least six ambulances could be seen.

Blue Rhino relocated to Tavares about seven years ago, according to an April 2006 article in the Orlando Sentinel. Its headquarters are in North Carolina.


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