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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Search and rescue continues after downtown Fort Worth hotel explosion

An explosion blew out the ground floor of the Sandman Signature Hotel in downtown Fort Worth, Texas, on Monday afternoon, Jan. 8, 2024.    (Amanda McCoy/Fort Worth Star-Telegram/TNS)
By Lana Ferguson and Sarah Bahari The Dallas Morning News

Search and rescue crews continued to comb through wreckage early Tuesday in search of possible victims after a hotel in downtown Fort Worth exploded a day earlier.

No additional victims were found, according to the Fort Worth Fire Department. The toll of the injured remained at 21, one of whom was critically injured and four seriously. The others suffered minor injuries. Updates on their conditions were not immediately available.

Trained canines were on scene at the Sandman Signature Hotel to assist rescue crews, the fire department said on social media, and several downtown streets remained closed Tuesday morning while police officers patrolled the area.

Authorities have said they believe the explosion was likely caused by a gas leak, and Atmos crews remained at the scene Tuesday.

Pieces and panels of wood, glass and drywall were strewn across a couple blocks of downtown, and a section of a wall ripped from a building was propped up on a tree near the sidewalk, some of its windows still intact. In other places, window frames dangled from outside walls. Windows of nearby businesses were blown out.