USA: Twenty injured after gas explosion in shopping mall

Twenty people were injured when a vacant pizza restaurant exploded in a South Florida shopping plaza on Saturday, according to police.

The blast sent debris flying along a busy road in Plantation, west of Fort Lauderdale in Broward county. The restaurant was destroyed and nearby businesses were damaged.

The Plantation fire department called it a gas explosion. The blast scattered large pieces of concrete as far as 50 yards away and sent pieces of metal as far as 100 yards across the street.

Dozens of firefighters responded and could be seen picking through the rubble with dogs sniffing through the debris. There were no known fatalities immediately after the explosion, said police officer Chavez Grant.

Of the 20 injured, two were seriously hurt.

Developing Story via The Guardian