The Police of Houston, in Texas, reported a strong explosion in a building early this morning, which was felt in much of the city.
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The event, which was recorded around 04:30 in the morning, took place in a building located on Gessner Street, where several police and fire patrols went.
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The local authorities closed the access roads near the area of the accident in a wide perimeter as a preventive measure while carrying out the first investigations.
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Explosion of building: 4500 Gessner. Patrol units blocking off streets in the area. HFD responding. #hounews #houtraffic CC8
& mdash; Houston Police (@houstonpolice) January 24, 2020
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The Houston Police chief, Art Acevedo, wrote at 5:30 am local, almost an hour after the report of the outbreak, that “avoid this area and do not get carried away by curiosity.”
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Acevedo said the flames at the scene of the incident had increased and that there were other small explosions, after the first major explosion.
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This is still an active scene. Avoid the area.
No evacuation order given at this time.
We will advise of the possible cause of the explosion as soon as we have concrete info. @HoustonFire HazMat team is on scene and monitoring. https://t.co/OUkT1T934I
& mdash; Chief Samuel Peña (@FireChiefofHFD) January 24, 2020
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The first images transmitted by local television channels show foci of fire and debris scattered on the street where the explosion occurred.
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Witnesses cited by the Eyewitness News site claim to have seen two people who were injured from the rubble, but there was still no official confirmed information about victims.
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The Houston Fire Department said a person had been taken to the hospital.
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“This is still an active scene. Avoid the area. No evacuation order has been given at this time,” tweeted city fire chief Samuel Peña.
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“We will notify the possible cause of the explosion as soon as we have specific information.”
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<iframe class = "_ 3ndsl" height = "0" srcdoc = "
This is still an active scene. Avoid the area.
No evacuation order given at this time.
We will advise of the possible cause of the explosion as soon as we have concrete info. @HoustonFire HazMat team is on scene and monitoring. https://t.co/OUkT1T934I
& mdash; Chief Samuel Peña (@FireChiefofHFD) January 24, 2020
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Apparently the explosion took place in a chemical tank of a factory that produces several products.
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“This is a big disaster”: resident
In social networks, many people said that the noise was felt strongly, even waking up some.
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The local KHOU 11 News site posted a video of a Twitter user identified as Joey Charpentier in which he captures the glow of what appears to be a huge explosion.
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Large explosion shakes Houston, rattles nerves – & gt; https://t.co/p8YZW7ko2J #KHOU #HTownRush pic.twitter.com/RAx0GNWlyB
& mdash; KHOU 11 News Houston (@KHOU) January 24, 2020
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“The explosion took us all out of bed, it was very strong,” resident Mark Brady told local KPRC.
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“He broke all the windows of our house. He broke everyone’s garage door around here … and closer to the explosion around here, he broke people’s roofs and walls and we don’t know what it is … It’s a war zone over here, “Brady described.
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“This is a disaster,” he said. “This is a big disaster. I really don’t know what happened … Houston, we could use your prayers.”
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Another resident called only as Kim said: “The whole house is ruined.” The whole roof has fallen on all of us. We were all stuck there and a good family came and helped us. It is shattered. It is only shattered. All the houses were devastated. “
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