An explosion at the Sandman Signature Hotel rocked downtown Fort Worth, Texas, injuring at least 21 people, with one critically hurt, amid potential gas leak suspicions on Monday afternoon.
Debris from a major blast—which witnesses described as similar to thunder—was strewn across the block, inflicting damage and chaos in the vicinity. According to ABC30, the Fort Worth Fire Department reported that the explosion happened around 3:30 p.m., causing one critical injury and sending at least 14 people to the medical facilities. One of the injured managed to self-transport themselves to the hospital, while a 21st victim's status remains uncertain.
The tragedy unfolded in a historic building originally known as the Waggoner Building, just a block away from the Fort Worth Convention Center. Construction was reportedly taking place in a restaurant within the hotel at the time of the explosion. The Express News quoted Fort Worth Fire spokesman Craig Trojacek, who revealed, "We do know that there was some construction that was being done down at the restaurant. We're not 100% sure that that's where it actually started at this point in time."
City officials, along with federal investigators, are diligently working to pinpoint the cause of a blast that upended this corner of Fort Worth. Emergency personnel reportedly treated an array of injuries and continued their meticulous search for anyone possibly remaining inside the compromised structure. "We'll talk about the structural integrity ... after that, and we're just trying to make sure that when we walk out of that building, we can definitively say that we've got everybody removed from that structure," Trojacek told reporters at a news conference obtained by ABC30.
Gov. Greg Abbott has publicly stated that he is closely monitoring the situation, prepared to send additional resources if needed. Meanwhile, witnesses and bystanders have relayed their harrowing experiences to the press. "The man was all bloody, his face was all bloody," recounted Rebecca Martinez in an interview with The Express-News, as she described rushing from a nearby building immediately post-explosion.
Over a century old, the affected structure housed the Sandman Signature Fort Worth Downtown Hotel, a part of the city's historical fabric. The building has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1979. As the investigation unfolds, the full extent of the damage, both to human life and to the historic hotel, is being closely observed by the city and its residents.
