by At least 21 people were injured in an explosion that was likely caused by a gas leak and substantially damaged a hotel in downtown Fort Worth on Monday afternoon, authorities said.
One person was in critical condition and four were seriously injured, police said in an afternoon update. Fourteen people were transported to a hospital and one person went to the hospital on their own, police said.
Authorities had previously said one person was missing, but later reported they had found him.
Authorities initially said it was unclear what caused the explosion at the Sandman Signature hotel, which occurred around 3:30 p.m., although Craig Trojacek, spokesman for the Fort Worth Fire Department, said at a news conference that there were “an explosion”. “Smell of gas in the area.”
“We received reports that it had started at the restaurant,” Trojacek said, adding that a restaurant was being built at the hotel. “We’re not 100 percent sure that’s where it really started at this point.”
The Fort Worth Fire Department later said on social networks that the explosion had “probably” been caused by a gas leak, but that officials were waiting to confirm this.
A spokeswoman for Atmos Energy, which supplies natural gas to North Texas, said the company was investigating the explosion.
Three of the injured were employees of Musume, a contemporary Asian restaurant located inside the Sandman, Josh Babb, the restaurant’s co-founder, said on Instagram. “All of us at Musume are devastated,” he said, noting that the restaurant was closed at the time and there were no customers inside. All three employees were receiving medical treatment and were in stable condition, Babb said.
Video footage and images from the scene showed substantial damage to the hotel’s ground floor, a new facility located in a century-old historic building, and debris scattered across the street.
Christian Alvarez, 25, who works at Pink Cobra, a tattoo parlor two blocks from the hotel, said he felt the shop shaking Monday afternoon. Alvarez said he and two other co-workers went outside and saw smoke coming from the street.
“It was pretty gnarly,” Alvarez said.
Kevin Martinez, a manager at a nearby CVS store, said the store’s windows reverberated for a couple of seconds after an initial explosion. Some of his co-workers assumed the sound was thunder, since a line of storms had passed earlier in the day, Martinez said.
“I said, ‘No, it’s not,’” he added. “I thought it was a bomb.”
After the shaking stopped, Mr. Martinez said, he went outside and saw people running toward the hotel and smoke.
“To be honest, it was surprising because there wasn’t much panic,” he said. “I thought they would be running away from it.”
Another CVS employee, Vrisa Verduzco, said she was on her way to work when she saw police cars racing toward Houston Street. Block by block, they put up barricades. It wasn’t long before dust, smoke, and the smell of gasoline were inside her car.
The Fort Worth Fire Department said a reunification area for those searching for loved ones had been set up in a parking lot a few blocks from the hotel.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said it was assisting Fort Worth police and fire departments.
Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare said on social media that had ordered county buildings in downtown Fort Worth to close for the day out of “an abundance of caution.”
Texas Governor Greg Abbott said in a statement that he was monitoring the situation and that additional resources could be deployed immediately.
“I ask all Texans to pray for those who were injured in the explosion, as well as those who bravely responded to keep others safe,” he said.
The hotel occupies one of the most historically important buildings in Fort Worth. Built in 1920, the 20-story WT Wagoner Building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. The registry describes it as a “physical manifestation of the crucial role played by Fort Worth in the national oil boom.”
The building housed the offices of several oil exploration companies and a bank over the years, according to the National Register. Its current owner, Northland Properties, bought the building in 2019. The 245-room Sandman Hotel opened in March 2023, according to The Fort Worth Star Telegram.
Livia Albeck-Ripka and Orlando Mayorquin contributed reports.
