Nov 13, 2008 6:53 pm US/Pacific
Colo. Restaurant Explosion Kills 1
Several Others Hurt, 2 Critically
PUEBLO, Colo. (CBS) ―
An explosion in Pueblo, Colo. Thursday afternoon that leveled a Mexican restaurant in the southern Colorado city's historic district left one woman dead and several people hurt.
Firefighters dug a man out of the rubble of the restaurant at around 6:30 p.m., more than four hours after the blast. Pueblo Fire Chief Chris Riley said he was conscious and talking.
Police said an emergency call came in at about 2:15 p.m. that there had been an explosion on the roof of The Branch Inn, located at 301 S. Union Avenue.
Authorities found what Riley called a "devastating scene." Glass flew into the air when the building collapsed and the restaurant's heavy front door was in the middle of the street. One building next to the restaurant had a partially collapsed roof. Other buildings had their windows blown out. Several vehicles parked on the street were also heavily damaged.
Officials evacuated several blocks after the explosion.
Shortly after arriving, emergency crews took several people who were hurt in the blast to the hospital. A search ensued for those who were trapped, and search teams eventually pulled out two women, one of whom later died, and much later, the man.
The Branch Inn's building is on the historical register in Pueblo, according to CBS station KCNC-TV in Denver's partner KKTV. A new roof was installed just this year in April, 2008, as well as a new heater and cooling system in 2007.
Copter4 video showed the Inn's large vertical sign lying in pieces on the road. Little else was recognizable.
The explosion was so powerful that the restaurant's front door's hinge lodged in the fender of an SUV at a stop sign. The driver of the SUV, Christine Guerin, 35, of Pueblo, said she was looking for a business when all in a sudden she heard and explosion and saw glass flying toward her.
"You couldn't even see the building. It was just smoke, black smoke," she said, saying she could hear a hissing noise and smelled gas after she got out of her car.
"People started running toward the building and screaming if anybody needed help," she said, adding that she saw a man come out of the building and collapse on the street.
Police quickly arrived quickly and began escorting people from the scene.
Rick Beatty, a delivery driver for the nearby Flower and Herb Co., says the restaurant was "flat to the ground."
Flower and Herb Co. owner Mardi Clay said the explosion was so loud she thought a car had smashed into her shop.
"It rattled the whole block," she said, and smoke was billowing from the building.
"We've all got stomach aches figuring out how we can help, but you can't get in (firefighters') way," Clay said.
Pueblo, a city of about 106,000, is 100 miles south of Denver.
The cause is under investigation. The Colorado Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were asked to assist and a building collapse team from Fort Carson arrived at the scene.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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