Huge Gas Explosion At Flooded Fl. Jail Kills 2, Injures Over 100

At least two people are dead, 100- 150 others are injured, and hundreds are homeless after a Florida jail exploded in recent superstorm flooding in the region, authorities said.

‘They ain’t telling you anything’

Relatives are at the scene, desperate to get details on their loved ones as droves of police officers and first responders, who worked all night, are still working Thursday morning. Emergency personnel from as far away as Orange Beach, Ala., responded to the scene.

“We don’t know if they dead or alive. It’s really frustrating,” Eva Stewart told a CNN affiliate. “I can’t sleep not knowing if my child’s OK. I got other family members in there too, I don’t know if they’re OK.”

“They ain’t telling you anything,” Daniels said as he watched paramedics. “All they are telling everybody is to stand back.”

Debra Griffin stood nearby,frustrated by lack of communication. Her son, nephew and daughter-in-law were housed in the facility. She left her job at a nearby adult care center when hearing about the explosion, hoping to learn if her loved ones were safe.

“All I wanted to do was see my little ones,” she said. Instead, she saw people being carried away on stretchers and in body bags.

Families were to be notified after authorities evacuated the facility and got medical care to survivors.

“The first process is making sure that we have everyone, that we know where they are, and then we’ll begin informing family members,” she said.

Search and rescue first responders continue to work the facility early  Thursday. uthorities say they had completed two sweeps of the building. .

Around 11 p.m. Wednesday, the Escambia County Central Booking and Detention Facility exploded, said Kathleen Dough-Castro, Public Information Officer for Escambia County.

“There was an apparent gas explosion in the central booking area of the Escambia County jail,” Castro said during a news briefing, as cited by the Pensacola News Journal. “We had approximately 600 prisoners in the facility at the time. Injured prisoners are being transported under guard to area hospitals. Uninjured prisoners are being taken to other detention facilities in Escambia County as well as Santa Rosa County.”

Pensacola Police Officer Maria Landy told ABC News Radio that two people died, but there was no word on whether they were inmates or guards. 

“By midnight, the streets around the facility had been cordoned off, and dozens of bystanders had gathered at the scene. Ida Royster, who has lived in the neighborhood since 1956, stood on her porch watching the tragedy unfold,” USA Today reported..

“I was watching preaching on my iPad,” she said, “and they were praising God and shouting. Then, I just heard a big boom.”

Royster said she thought someone had driven a car into her house, due to the force of the blast.

Authorities are investigating the cause of the explosion. Severe weather swept through the area Tueday and Wednesday, causing significant flooding in the county Wednesday morning.

By early Thursday, authorities had completed two sweeps of the building. Search and rescue work were ongoing.

Castro said, ”The building did receive extensive flooding as a result of the rains,” she told CNN affiliate WALA. “I don’t know if that’s directly related to the incident that happened this evening or not, we’ll be doing an investigation to determine that.”

Among medical facilities providing treatment are Sacred Heart Hospital, Baptist Hospital, Gulf Breeze Hospital and West Florida Hospital. All of them report having patients with non life-threatening injuries. 

Escambia County is in the western part of the state.