A MASSIVE explosion has ripped through a busy shopping mall in
Plantation,
Florida, leaving emergency services dealing with “mass casualties".
About 20 people were injured in the blast at The Fountains shopping centre in Plantation, west of Fort Lauderdale in Broward County, on Saturday morning. Dramatic pictures show the terrifying extent of the devastation caused by the explosion.
Plantation Fire Department spokesman Joel Gordon said that 20 people were injured, including two seriously. He said the cause seemed to be a gas explosion.
One witness told US television station WPLG: "There was a huge flash of light ... it lit up the whole sky and it was loud ... this surpassed fireworks ... your ears were ringing. It just looks like an apocalypse.”
Alex Carver, who works nearby, said: “We thought it was thunder at first and then we felt the building shake and things started falling.
“I looked outside and it was almost like the world was ending. It was nuts, man. It was crazy.”
Concerned residents took to social media following the explosion.
One tweeted: "I live a mile at most from today's gas explosion in Plantation. Heard the bomb-like sound. Felt my house shake. Multiple injuries being reported. Praying nobody was killed, and that no one you know was nearby and affected."
Another shared: "That explosion shook my entire house. I live a mile away & my fan shook so hard I thought it was going to fall."
The fire department called the blast a gas explosion, adding that there were “multiple patients”.
Plantation Police Department tweeted: “Avoid the area of University Drive and Peter's Road. Fire and PD are working an incident involving an explosion. Command post is set up on S. University Drive in the 800 block. Media Command post set up north of this location.
“All stores and businesses in the area of the Fountains Plaza and the Plantation Marketplace plaza near LA Fitness will be shut down until further notice until Fire Personnel can determine that it is safe to return. Please do not come into this area if possible.”