Explosió a Waukegan

El dijous passat cap a les 12 del migdia, després que acabaren d'entrar el xiquets del torn de la vesprada i quan estavem fent el calendari, vam tremolar tots els vidres de les finestres, es van moure les parets, i fins i tot van caure alguns del treballs que tenia penjats a les parets dels xiquets...Creia que hi havia un terratrèmol o que havia explotat el depòsit de la calefacció de l'escola, vam eixir a veure què passava i des de l'oficina de l'escola ens van informar que havia hagut una explosió a un edifici que estarà a uns 100m de l'escola. Després de l'exposió, bombers, ambulàncies, policia, helicòpters de la televisió, etc... Minuts més tard l'escola estava plena de fum i els nens amb dificultats per respirar...
Va haver 8 ferits i no va passar res més, van volar pels aires 5 negocis, una perruqueria, una tenda de mòbils, una d'enviar diners a l'estranger...i no sé que més...

Baix us adjunte la notícia treta de la NBC5.com de Chicago, en anglès, clar!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EykgFWDU8JA

The explosion happened around lunchtime at 1926 Grand Ave. at a shopping plaza home to Tuxedo World, Cleopatra's Unisex Hair Salon, Cellular Concepts and a travel agency. NBC5's Lauren Jiggetts reported that in all, eight people were injured. Five of those were transported to area hospitals, and four were released as of Thursday night. One person remained hospitalized. Jiggetts reported Thursday night that the owners of the hair salon were briefly hospitalized, but were later released. "I was, like, so sad," said Jennifer Martinez, the owners' niece. "I was, like, worried ... because I didn't know what was happening or if they were OK." Officials said the cause of the explosion was still under investigation, but they said it was likely caused by a gas leak.
Shopkeepers said that they had been smelling gas in their stores for the last couple of days.
Waukegan Deputy Fire Chief Dan Young said the explosion was "very large."
"It actually lifted the roof from the building and set it right back down, which caused the collapse," Young told MSNBC. "You have to assume (a gas leak), but at this time we haven't made a determination."
Fire officials said the one-and-a-half-story structure's roof collapsed into at least four businesses due to the explosion. Bits of mannequins from the tuxedo shop were strewn about the street after the explosion, unnerving some witnesses.
Jiggetts said she spoke with a worker at a nearby store who said he smelled gas when he opened his shop around 9 a.m. Thursday. Young later confirmed that several shop owners said they had smelled gas for the last couple of days, but it's unclear whether anyone reported the smell before the explosion.
Young said officials were "99 percent sure" that everyone was out of the building, and there was no reason to believe anyone was missing.
Nick Alajakis, with the Lake County News-Sun, told MSNBC that officials believe the explosion may have happened inside the hair salon.
Images from Sky5 over the scene showed a large portion of the building's roof had collapsed, and plate-glass windows on the building's facade were blown out. No smoke was visible coming from the building. Fire officials later confirmed that a small fire sparked by the explosion was quickly extinguished.
Two alarms were called in reponse to the incident. Emergency crews from around the area assisted in the search for victims.
Witnesses as far as two blocks away when the explosion happened told Alajakis that they felt the concussion.
"All of a sudden you hear the big boom ... and you can feel it all over your body, your feet and everything," one witness told NBC5. "It just shakes you, and I really thought it was a bomb."
"It actually moved me on the floor," a man who was near the scene of the explosion said. "To turn and look and see the cloud come at you and debris ... it's tough to put into words."
Authorities closed Grand Avenue between Martin and Lewis avenues while they investigate and work to clean up the rubble.
People's Gas crews responded to the scene and shut off gas to the area, affecting some nearby homes.
People's Gas spokeswoman Bonnie Johnson said a crew was at the scene but hadn't been able to get close enough to say what might have caused the explosion because the fire department hadn't given clearance.
"Until they give us a go-ahead, there's no way we can go in and investigate it," she said.
Officials planned to bring in special equipment to dismantle the rubble on Friday, Young said. Special equipment was needed because the building was unstable. He said the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives planned to assist in the investigation.
George Sanchez, general manager of Chicago-based Mena Travel agency, said his company's Waukegan branch was adjacent to the explosion and employees inside felt the vibrations. But the store wasn't damaged by the blast.
"Our folks are OK. They were asked to vacate the premises for safety reasons," he said.
Waukegan has a population of about 88,000.