A gas explosion at a county jail in Pensacola, Florida killed two inmates and wounded over 150 people Wednesday night, authorities said.
The deadly explosion at the Escambia County Jail's Central Booking Facility occurred at 11 p.m., wounding both inmates and jail guards, authorities told NBC News. Those wounded are being treated at five local hospitals for minor injuries including neck and back pain.
Rescue teams searched through the building that housed 600 inmates well after midnight on Thursday. The uninjured inmates were transferred to other jail facilities.
The cause of the blast was not immediately known, but "preliminary investigations indicate that the laundry room flooded and may have been leaking gas which [was] not reported yesterday," the Pensacola City Council told NBC News.
Pensacola was hit hard on Wednesday by a massive storm that brought record-breaking rainfall and severe flooding. The same storm has killed at least 38 people across several states.
An employee at a gas station near the prison who witnessed the blast said it felt like an earthquake.
"There was a big flash that lit up the whole sky and the whole area shook for what felt like a good five seconds," James McLean told the station.
Nearly 40 of those injured were taken to West Florida Hospital with "very minor, non-life-threatening" injuries, hospital spokesman Kendrick Doidge told the station.
"All of them have been seen in our ER, treated, and released back into custody," Doidge said.
Another 31 patients were taken to Sacred Heart Hospital with minor injuries, as well as 81 patients at both Gulf Breeze Hospital and Baptist Hospital. Six patients were taken to Naval Hospital Pensacola.
One woman, Eva Stewart, told CNN affiliate WALA she has relatives in the Escambia jail.
"We don't know if they're dead or alive. It's really frustrating," Stewart told WALA at the scene of the blast. "I can't sleep not knowing if my child's OK. I got other family members in there too. I don't know if they're OK."
