JFK High School Blast Leaves 3 Injured, Building Stability In Question

Students and staff from John F. Kennedy High School in New York are feeling quite shaken up on Friday. An explosion at JFK High School in the Bronx left three people injured Thursday night. The building sustained heavy damage, and everybody in the area is stunned.

According to Pix11, authorities believe that a gas explosion caused the damage at JFK High School. The blast is said to have come in the midst of construction work on the school, where a new science lab is being put together.

Three private contractors were injured in the JFK High School explosion. Reports indicate that all three victims were taken to Jacobi Medical Center with burns. The fourth, fifth, and sixth floors of the school were damaged, but authorities indicate that they found no additional victims when sorting through the debris.

The school had a handful of workers on the sixth floor at the time of the explosion. The New York Times reports that seven people were on hand working on the science lab project at JFK High School when the blast happened.

It seems that gas was being drained from a main line just before the explosion. However, authorities believe that the line hadn’t been completely drained, thus causing the school blast. An apartment building near the school shook, and windows blew out from the sixth floor of the school.

Mayor Bill de Blasio has shared a statement regarding the JFK High School explosion. He says that the school has suffered severe damage, but a thorough structural assessment will be done to ascertain whether the school can be reopened.

There was no fire throughout the school in the aftermath of the blast. However, there was damage to the exterior walls in the blast, so the integrity of the building is being questioned.

After the blast, all three victims were reportedly in critical condition. On Friday, a hospital spokeswoman indicated that the three men were stabilizing. Some 140 emergency personnel attended to the JFK High School blast scene, and nearby residents indicate that it was a stunning and frightening scene.

As was previously reported by the Inquisitr, students are slated to begin school in the building on September 9. As neighbors and families wrap their heads around the JFK High School explosion aftermath, authorities will work to determine whether school can begin in the building as scheduled or whether alternative plans need to be made.

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