MARION COUNTY, Fla. -- A place for rehab became a place of tragedy. Since 2009, the state of the art Kesmarc Equine Rehabilitation Center has been healing horses from all over our state, but this morning, something went horribly wrong, and one one horse and one person who treated him are dead.
"It sounded like a sonic boom," said witness and horse trainer, Darren Ley. "You know around here we have mines that go off but around here everyone said it isn't a mine, that was too loud!"
Turns out it was the explosion of Kesmarc's hyperbaric chamber specifically designed for horses. Now all that's left is shrapnel scattered across the property. A reported 1,200 feet were impacted by the explosion.
"It's a large cylinder and the top of it was blown off," said Jessica Greene with Marion County Fire Rescue. "Debris is scattered all around it and the side building is collapsed.
The main stable where the explosion happened has been determined unsafe and horses and staff have been evacuated. The Sheriff's office named 28 year old Kesmarc staffer, Erica Marshall as the victim who died in the explosion. Another staff member, Sorcha Moneley was transferred to Shands Gainesville with serious injuries. The horse in the hyperbaric chamber also died in the explosion, but no other horses or staff members were harmed.
Neighbors of the facility are shocked, they say Kesmarc has a spotless reputation.
"I know a lot of people have a lot of success over there and they use them all over the country in different places so hopefully this was just an accident," said Georgie Yates, who owns Shadybrook Farm across from Kesmarc.
The state Fire Marshall is still investigating the cause of the explosion but one witness close to Kesmarc staff told Action News that the incident may be a result of operation error.
