Food Truck Explosion In Philadelphia Leaves 12 People Injured, Three Critical
An explosion inside a Mexican food truck in Philadelphia’s Feltonville neighborhood has left at least 12 people injured, reports ABC News. The food truck explosion which rocked the entire neighborhood happened outside an auto body shop where the vehicle was parked. The incident happened at around 5:30 pm local time, and there are at least a dozen confirmed injuries.
CBS is reporting that the explosion has caused third degree burns to a 40-year-old woman with 100 percent burns to her body. Another woman, age 25, is also reportedly injured – this time with both second and third degree burns. A man, 33, was also hospitalized following the explosion. He has suffered from first degree burns. The trio have been admitted to the Albert Einstein Medical Center and treatment is underway as we file this report. ABC News adds that there is a 13-year-old girl too in the list of the injured. The teenager has been moved to St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children, according to the police. Nine other people were also injured in the food truck explosion – but their injuries were not of grievous nature.
According to Nicole Ellis, who lives in the neighborhood, the explosion and the noise was huge.
“We thought something fell over,” Ellis said. “Then all of a sudden we heard screams. We walked outside and the truck was billowing fire.”
She also claims that she had overheard people saying that one of the badly injured victims was actually ejected out of the truck itself by the force of the explosion. This, however, is not confirmed.
Meanwhile, eyewitnesses to the food truck explosion and the subsequent fire say that the cause of the explosion was a blast in a propane tank stored inside the truck. According to Jane Kim, the owner of a store next to the auto body shop, the food truck owned is regularly parked there. According to a person living in the neighborhood, the entire area was shaken by the powerful explosion, reports The Philadelphia Inquirer. Then there were others who thought the noise was from a car accident.
A Philadelphia city fire dispatcher has confirmed that the cause of the accident is still being investigated.
[Image Via NBC ]
