Hospital CEO: Gas line perhaps involved in blast
GATESVILLE, Texas (AP) - The chief executive of a Central Texas hospital where an explosion killed 1 construction worker and injured 12 others says a gas line may have been involved.
Dave Byrom says the Tuesday afternoon blast that tore through an expansion project under construction at Coryell Memorial Health Care System hospital in Gatesville was "catastrophic."
Dr. Jeff Bates, the hospital's medical director, says "three or four" of the workers were critically injured.
Officials say the injured were taken to trauma centers in Temple 34 miles (55 kilometers) to the southeast, with those sustaining severe burns being airlifted 110 miles (177 kilometers) northeast to Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas. Byrom says none of the hospital's patients and staff were injured.
A spokesman for the Texas-New Mexico Power Company says the explosion knocked out power for a large portion of the city. Spokesman Eric Paul says most service had been restored within three hours of the blast.