After an explosion at a Florida propane plant, a fire is raging there, apparently blowing up propane tanks en masse — the same kind of tanks you’d use on a backyard grill. We still don’t know what started the fire at the Blue Rhino facility in Tavares, Florida, nor how many people have been injured, but the Orlando Sentinel reports 24 people worked in the plant and ten are missing. A live feed from local NBC affiliate WESH showed a roiling blaze, punctuated with bursts of flame as the area for a mile around the plant was evacuated. The fire hasn’t hit the big storage tanks at the plant, which are used to fill the smaller tanks, but according to WESH it’s too hot for firefighters to get close and guard those. All they can do now is watch and hope the blaze dies down soon.
Update, 1:50 a.m.: Fifteen people are now reported missing, and seven have been transported to hospitals, Lake County Sheriff spokesman John Harrell told reporters, per CNN. Another two people drove themselves to hospitals, the Sentinel adds. At least two escaped the blast unharmed, according to the Sentinel. Here’s hoping those missing turn out to have done the same.
