Texas hospital explosion kills one and injures 12, officials say

Facility shut down and patients transported to other hospitals following deadly blast

People hug near Coryell Memorial Healthcare System hospital where an explosion in a building under construction injured several people (Rod Aydelotte/Waco Tribune-Herald via AP)

One person has been killed and 12 injured in an explosion at a Texas hospital, according to officials.

The blast, which sent clouds of black smoke billowing into the sky on Tuesday afternoon, struck a construction site at Coryell Memorial Healthcare System in Gatesville, Texas. Three or four construction workers injured in the blast were in critical condition, according to the hospital’s medical director.

Preliminary reports suggested the explosion was the result of a construction accident, Coryell County emergency manager Bob Harrell told The Independent.

Some of the wounded were taken to trauma centres in the nearby city of Temple, while those with severe burns were airlifted to Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas, officials said. According to local news reports, crews searched through the rubble of the building through Tuesday evening to make sure all the workers were accounted for.

Calling the explosion “catastrophic,” hospital CEO Dave Byrom told reporters that the facility had temporarily been shut down, and patients transported to other hospitals. No hospital patients or employees were harmed.

An answering machine message on the hospital’s main phone line said the facility was “closed until further notice” on Wednesday morning. One top county official told local news station KWTX it could take weeks – or even months – for the hospital to reopen fully.

The explosion knocked out power to a large part of the city, according to a spokesman for the Texas-New Mexico Power Company. Two nursing homes in the area – the Oaks at Coryell and the Meadows – were evacuated after losing power. Most service was restored within three hours of the explosion.

Investigators were looking into a boiler room under construction as the possible source of the explosion. The state fire marshal was appointed to lead the investigation, Coryell County Judge John Firth said.

Associated Press contributed to this report.