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Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Inspectors Sift Through Post-Blast Damage of New Hilton Hotel

An explosion on Monday in a Hilton Hotel under construction in San Diego injured 13 workers, four of whom remained hospitalized on Tuesday. It appears the explosion was caused by a natural gas leak in a mechanical room.

The San Diego Union Tribune reports: "About 400 people, mostly construction workers, were inside the 30-story building when the explosion rocked the hotel at 2 p.m. Monday. The blast tore open the northwest face of the fourth through seventh floors. Fire Department officials estimated damage to the building at $5 million or more."

"Fire officials said the explosion occurred when flames from a water heater or an electrical spark ignited natural gas that had been leaking into the mechanical room on the building's fifth floor."

A city structural engineer has evaluated the building and "observed no apparent damage to the building's main structural concrete frame, or to the steel-braced frame at the area of the blast."

Cal/OSHA is conducting an investigation that is expected to take two to six months to complete.

posted by Steve Hudgik | Workplace Safety Post 0 Comments |