US fire official: At least 2dead in Los Angeles explosion
Fire officials say a suspected natural gas explosion has shattered a metal-fabricating business and killed two people
Los Angeles: Fire officials say a suspected natural gas explosion has shattered a metal-fabricating business and killed two people.
The explosion at about 6:15 a.m. on Friday turned the wooden building front into a mass of shattered wooden beams. Fire spokesman Erik Scott said the building caught fire and 100 firefighters doused the blaze in about 25 minutes.
Fire Captain Stephen Ruda said a worker was thrown into the street and died from his blast injuries.
Ruda said another man who tried to move his truck away from the building was jolted by a downed 34,500-volt power line.
Authorities say a tampered gas line has been found at the scene. Southern California Gas Co. spokeswoman Denise King says the metre was shut off and someone hooked up an illegal line that sent natural gas into the building at dangerously high pressure.
