Feb 28, 2008 10:43 pm US/Eastern
Illinois Shopping Center Explodes; 9 Injured
Authorities Search For Possible Trapped Victims
WAUKEGAN, Ill. (CBS News) ―
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The roof collapsed at this retail building in Waukegan, Ill. following an explosion.
CBS
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Firefighters respond to an explosion which leveled parts of several buildings in Waukegan, Ill., on Feb. 28, 2008
CBS
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An explosion leveled parts of several buildings in Waukegan, Ill., on Feb. 28, 2008
CBS
An explosion possibly caused by a gas leak ripped through a suburban Chicago shopping plaza Thursday, injuring at least nine people and rattling nearby buildings, fire officials said.
Eight people were taken to a hospital, none with life-threatening injuries, and another was treated at the scene, Deputy Fire Chief Dan Young said. A fire that erupted had been extinguished, and crews were nearly certain the rubble had been cleared by mid-afternoon but were seeking one person who had been reported missing, he said.
The blast struck around lunchtime in the business district about 40 miles north of Chicago, shattering windows and collapsing the roof of the plaza, which housed a cell phone shop, a tuxedo store and a hair salon, among other businesses.
Mannequins from the tuxedo store were left strewn about the street, reports CBS News station WBBM-TV in Chicago.
Authorities believe the cause was a gas explosion, Young said.
Two of the eight people taken to the hospital were in serious condition, Young said. The injuries included smoke inhalation, bumps and bruises, he said.
Candi Rixie said she was taking orders at Leno's Submarine Shop a block away from the shopping plaza when the blast hit.
"We felt like an earthquake, like somebody had hit the building with a car," she said.
Rixie said she ran out of the restaurant to see what had happened. She and others first thought they saw bodies in the street, but realized it was clothes that had been on display in a store and had been blown outside by the blast.
A spokeswoman for People's Gas said a crew was on the scene but hasn't been able to get close enough to say what might have caused the explosion.
David Motley, a spokesman for the city of Waukegan, said the brick building was decades-old.
"The roof blew up and off and fell back down," he said.
George Sanchez, general manager of Chicago-based Mena Travel agency, said his company's Waukegan branch was adjacent to the explosion and employees inside felt the vibrations. But the store wasn't damaged by the blast.
"Our folks are OK. They were asked to vacate the premises for safety reasons," he said.
Waukegan has a population of about 88,000.
(© 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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