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| One person died and 12 more were injured in an explosion at Coryell Memorial Hospital in Gatesville, Texas on Tuesday. Photo courtesy Belton Police Dept./Twitter |
By Daniel Uria, UPI
At least one person died and 12 more were injured in an explosion at a hospital in Texas on Tuesday.
Officials said the explosion took place at around 2 p.m. and all of the victims were construction workers working on a new construction area at Coryell Memorial Hospital in Gatesville.
"There were some serious injuries," Coryell County Emergency Managment Coordinator Robert Harrell said.
Harrell said people were burned and injured workers were transported to area hospitals after the blast.
One patient arrived at a hospital in extreme condition with burns as well as injuries to his head and chest and six other patients sustained injuries to their faces.
Officials believe the explosion was caused by a construction accident and foul play isn't suspected.
"I do understand that it was possibly a gas line, possibly some activity in that which caused quite a blast," Coryell Memorial Health System CEO David Byrom said.
Byrom added none of the hospital staff or patients were injured by the blast.
The hospital and most of the city lost power following the explosion, but it was later returned.
Coryell Memorial Hospital was closed for the remainder of the day and it wasn't immediately decided when it would reopen.
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