At least 21 people injured after massive explosion at downtown Fort Worth hotel

FORT WORTH, Texas — At least 21 people were injured on Monday after an explosion rocked the ground floor of a hotel in Fort Worth, Texas, authorities said.

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The explosion at the Sandman Signature Hotel in the city’s downtown area occurred shortly before 4 p.m. CST, the Star-Telegram of Fort Worth reported.

Officials say at least 21 injured

Update 7:22 p.m. EST Jan. 8: Fort Worth MedStar confirmed that at least 21 people were injured in the explosion at the Sandman Signature Hotel in downtown Fort Worth, KFDW-TV reported.

Officials said one person was in critical condition and four others were in serious but not life-threatening condition, according to the television station. The rest of the injuries were minor.

Four patients were taken to JPS Health Network’s hospital for treatment hospital spokesperson Jessica Virnoche told the Star-Telegram in an email.

According to the Fort Worth Fire Department, no one was killed in the blast.

Original report: Fort Worth MedStar confirmed at least 11 people were injured in the explosion, KFDW-TV reported. One person was in critical condition, two were in serious condition and the others were taken to area hospitals with minor injuries, Fort Worth Fire Department spokesperson Craig Trojacek told reporters. One person is still listed as missing, he added.

“There is a smell of gas here in downtown. We’re not sure if the smell of gas was caused from the explosion and the fire itself or if that’s what caused the explosion,” Trojacek said. “But that’s what we’re looking at.”

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives spokesperson Sara Abel, who was briefed by local police, also said that natural gas was suspected of causing the explosion, according to The Associated Press.

The gas company, Atmos, is on scene assisting, the Star-Telegram reported.

The hotel opened in March 2023 in the city’s historic, 20-story W.T. Waggoner Building, according to the newspaper. It also houses an Asian fusion restaurant, Musume, in its basemen, The Dallas Morning News reported.

The explosion was in the kitchen of the restaurant, Josè Mira, 49, of Dallas, who works there, told the Star-Telegram. Mira, who was covered in dust and was cut on his arm, said he had to climb out of the rubble.

“Everything fell, the walls, the floor, everything,” Mira told the newspaper. “It’s a miracle I’m alive.”

Fort Worth resident Barbara Jacobs, 58, said she normally walks by the building on her way home but “something told her not to.”

“When I heard the boom I was in the middle of the street,” she told the Star-Telegram. “To see it firsthand, oh my God it was scariest thing I ever seen.”

Fort Worth City Councilman Carlos Flores wrote in a Facebook post that there had been a gas leak and an explosion.

Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker confirmed that there was an explosion, and that “every Fort Worth emergency response agency is on hand responding.”

“We will provide more information as available,” Parker said in a statement that was posted to X, formerly known as Twitter. “My heart and prayers are with those who were injured as we continue managing response.”

The Waggoner Building, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, has 245 rooms, the Star-Telegram reported. Sandman Signature Hotel has two hotels the United States; the other one is in Plano, Texas, and was built in 2018.

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