Florida gas blast leaves eight injured as it blows roof off propane plant

Residents within one-mile radius evacuated as seven late shift workers caught in blasts taken to hospital

Fire blazing above the marshy Florida tree-line after series of explosions at a gas plant (EPA)

A series of explosions at a gas plant in Florida has left seven people in hospital but miraculously no one was killed.

The blasts occurred at the Blue Rhino factory, which refills propane containers, located in the city of Tavares around 35 miles north-west of Orlando.

Around 24 people were believed to be working at the centre when a number of consecutive blasts blew off the roof at around 11pm local time.

People were evacuated within a one-mile radius of the plant, and there were initially fears for the lives of 15 members of staff who could not be located.

Footage from the scene earlier this morning continued to show fires raging over a large area, shooting large flames and plumes of smoke into the sky.

But John Herrell of the Lake County Sheriff's Office said that all workers have now been accounted for, and reported no fatalities.