Minneapolis is reeling after a natural gas explosion shook Minnehaha Academy’s upper campus causing the building to partially collapse.
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Law enforcement say that at least two people are still missing and unaccounted for while seven others have been transported to nearby hospitals for emergency treatment thee being critically wounded in the blast and four others facing serious injuries.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BREAKING?src=hash">#BREAKING</a>: Massive explosion in Minnesota at a school called Minnehaha Academy- looks like a building has partially collapsed <a href="https://t.co/KM13XfElA2">pic.twitter.com/KM13XfElA2</a></p>— Gadi Schwartz (@GadiNBC) <a href="https://twitter.com/GadiNBC/status/892775424371163136">August 2, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Crews were searching for “spaces where people could be surviving in there and try to move the rubble in a way and access those spaces in a way that won’t cause further damage,” said Bryan Tyner, Assistant Minneapolis Fire Chief.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">WATCH LIVE: Building explosion and collapse at Minnehaha Academy. <a href="https://t.co/XAzOLMuApl">https://t.co/XAzOLMuApl</a> <a href="https://t.co/pP0d4GDOYG">pic.twitter.com/pP0d4GDOYG</a></p>— KARE 11 (@kare11) <a href="https://twitter.com/kare11/status/892772973832282112">August 2, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Tyner emphasized that the two unaccounted for might not even be in the building. He said contract workers were in the building working on the boiler system when the natural gas explosion occurred. A permit was issued June 7 to Master Mechanical Inc. for “gas piping and hooking up meter.”
Three people were in critical condition and four people in serious condition at 1 p.m., said Jim Miner, chief of emergency services at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis.
The initial 911 call came in about 10:10 AM reporting a serious building explosion with people possibly trapped.
By noon, the fire was out and all the undamaged parts of the building in the 3100 block of West River Parkway had been searched and cleared, Tyner said.
“It had to be a significant explosion that would take out that brick and cause the building to collapse,” Tyner said in a media update at the scene.
The State will provide any and all resources necessary to aid first responders in their efforts to ensure the safety of all those impacted by this morning’s explosion,” Dayton said.
Minnehaha Academy is a Christian college prep school, serving students from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. Even though it is currently summer break, many students, teachers and coaches were at the school for sport programs, summer school and other activities.
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