A suspected gas line explosion caused massive damage at the Escambia County Central Booking and Detention Facility near Pensacola, Florida. More than 100 people have been injured and at least two unidentified people have been killed.
According to prison officials, the explosion occurred last night between 11 p.m. and midnight. Prison officials have stated that inmates and guards are among the injured.
The explosion was so powerful it could be heard from miles away as windows and houses were rattled during the late-night hours.
Surviving prisoners were transferred to school buses to be moved to other jail facilities in the area. There have been no reported escapes of any prisoners and those injured were taken to hospitals. Family members of those incarcerated gathered near the prison demanding to know the status of their jailed loved ones.
“We had approximately 600 prisoners in the facility at the time. Injured prisoners are being transported under guard to area hospitals. Uninjured prisoners are being transported to other detention facilities in Escambia County as well as Santa Rosa County,” said Escambia County Public Information Officer Kathleen Dough-Castro.
The damage to the facility is extensive with the partial collapse of one building and a roof collapse that has caused the complex to be unstable.
The facility housed both male and female prisoners who have all been accounted for, according to Dough-Castro.
