Explosions rock Florida gas plant, workers missing

A series of major explosions at a Florida propane gas plant has injured several workers and left others missing.
John Herrell of the Lake County Sheriff's Office said early today that 15 people who worked at the Blue Rhino propane plant were still unaccounted for. Herrell's news conference was carried live by WNET.
The Blue Rhino plant refilled propane tanks typically used for barbecues and other uses.
He said a crew of 24 to 26 people were working at the plant on an overnight shift when the explosions occurred late yesterday. He said seven people were injured and transported to a local hospital and two employees escaped unharmed.

Video footage on WESH-TV in Orlando showed fires burning through trucks used to transport propane tanks, which were parked at the plant. The fire was sending plumes of smoke into the air nearly two hours after the blast. Emergency crews could also be seen massing nearby.
Herrell said an evacuation zone was initially a 1.6-kilometre radius but had been reduced to a 800-meter radius. No injuries have been reported from residents in the neighborhood.

Herrell said officials believe the fire is contained and won't spread to another part of the plant but they cannot guarantee that.
Bryan Koon, director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, said he was still getting "preliminary information" from local authorities.

The blasts began about 11 pm Herrell said the plant usually has 53,000 20-pound (9-kilogram) propane tanks.
According to the Leesburg Daily Commercial, the plant was built in 2004 and employs fewer than 50 people.