14 Hurt In Natural Gas Explosion At Hotel Construction Site In San Diego
May 19, 2008 by national
Filed under Stories of Interest
A natural gas explosion in a downtown hotel under construction tore apart four floors, badly burned three construction workers and injured 11 others Monday afternoon.
The blast occurred about 2 p.m. on the lower floors of the Hilton Hotel, which is being built on Harbor Drive near the San Diego Convention Center. There were more than 400 workers inside at the time.
“There was an accumulation of natural gas from a leak in the utility room on the 5th floor,” said Maurice Luque, spokesman for the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department. “That gas found an ignition source. We’re not sure what it was, but it could have been electrical, or the flames from the boilers.”
