MONTCLAIR, California – an explosion in the California industrial facility on early Thursday left five injured and prompted the schools in the nearby areas to close, reported today.
“California industrial facility explosion injures multiple people,” Fox News Tweeted.
At roughly 9:15 a.m., the explosion happened at the facility located on Third Street in Montclair’s 4200 blocks 33 miles east of LA downtown. Some victims suffered burns and shrapnel injuries, as per media reports.
At 4:20 pm, the authorities issued a mandatory evacuation order due to ‘potentially dangerous gases’ billowing from the fiery explosion. However, it was lifted after several hours.
Four victims were taken to the hospital immediately and one was treated on the spot, said a Montclair fire official. So far, there has been no update received from the officials regarding the victim’s condition. The bomb and hazmat teams were there at the scene to put off the fire after the explosion.
“The facility appeared to be a metal recycling yard,” said the fire extinguishing department.
According to the Ontario-Montclair School District, the explosion and the following fire did not impact its schools.
“NO IMPACT TO ANY OMSD SCHOOLS at this time, some schools have been placed on a PRECAUTIONARY LOCKDOWN,” Tweeted the district. “Classroom instruction was not disrupted,” they added in a follow-up Tweet.
After the explosion, news outlets captured images of the area from multiple angles that showed burned items and canisters at some places on the ground.
After the explosion was heard in the area, several concerned residents took to social media as they saw a “plume of thick black smoke rising high into the air”. The pictures and videos from the scene captured a ‘dramatic fire’ at the recycling facility.
“4 people injured following an explosion at a #Montclair facility. Bomb squad & Hazmat teams are assessing the scene for safety,” an ABC reporter Tweeted.
“Everything was just exploding like a freaking war over here,” described an eyewitness to the incident. “I ran out my front door and things were flying already,” said another resident living in the nearby area, referring to scrap due to the explosion falling in the neighborhood.
