At least 21 people were injured after an explosion caused extensive damage to a hotel in downtown Fort Worth Monday afternoon, police said.
One person was in critical condition and two were in serious condition, Craig Trojacek, a Fort Worth Fire Department spokesman, said at a news conference. Eight others suffered minor injuries, he added. The authorities became aware of the other injuries later, including one person who went to hospital alone.
Authorities had previously said one person was missing, but later noted the person had been found.
It was unclear what caused the explosion at the Sandman Signature hotel, which occurred around 3.30pm, although Trojacek said there was “a smell of gas in the area”.
Later, the Fort Worth Fire Department said on social media that the explosion was “probably” caused by a gas leak, but that authorities were waiting to confirm this.
Video footage and images from the scene showed substantial damage to the ground floor of the hotel, a new structure housed in a century-old historic building, and debris scattered across the street.
Christian Alvarez, 25, who works at Pink Cobra, a tattoo studio two blocks from the hotel, said he felt the shop shaking Monday afternoon. Mr Alvarez said he and two other colleagues went outside and saw smoke coming down the road.
“It was pretty gnarly,” Alvarez said.
A spokesman for Atmos Energy, which supplies natural gas to North Texas, said the gas company was investigating the explosion.
“We were getting reports that the problem started in the restaurant,” Mr. Trojacek said, adding that a restaurant in the hotel was under construction. “We’re not 100% sure that it actually started there at this point.”
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said it was assisting Fort Worth police and firefighters.
Kevin Martinez, manager of a nearby CVS store, said the store’s windows rang for a couple of seconds after the initial explosion. Some of his colleagues assumed the sound was thunder, because a line of thunderstorms had moved through earlier in the day, Mr. Martinez said.
“I said, ‘No, no, it’s not,’” he added. “I thought it was a bomb.”
After the shaking stopped, Mr. Martinez said, he went outside and saw people running toward the hotel and the smoke.
“To be honest, it was surprising because there wasn’t much panic,” he said. “I thought they were going to run away.”
Another CVS employee, Vrisa Verduzco, said she was on her way to work when she saw police cars speeding toward Houston Street. Block after block they erected barricades. It wasn’t long before dust, smoke and the smell of gas wafted into her car.
The Fort Worth Fire Department said a reunion area was set up in a parking lot a few blocks from the hotel for those searching for loved ones.
Tim O’Hare, Tarrant County Judge, said on social media that he had ordered county buildings in downtown Fort Worth to close for the day out of an “abundance of caution.”
Governor Greg Abbott of Texas said in a statement that he was monitoring the situation and that additional resources could be deployed immediately.
“I ask all Texans to pray for those who were injured in the explosion, as well as those who bravely responded to protect others,” he said.
The hotel occupies one of Fort Worth’s most historically significant buildings. Built in 1920, the 20-story W.T. Wagoner Building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. The registry describes it as a “physical manifestation of the crucial role Fort Worth played in the nation’s oil boom.”
According to the National Register, over the years the building has housed the offices of several oil exploration companies and a bank. Its current owner, Northland Properties, purchased the building in 2019. The 245-room Sandman Hotel opened in March 2023, according to The Fort Worth Star Telegram.
Orlando Mayorquin contributed to the reporting.
