No bodies found in debris of Washington state motel explosion
BREMERTON, Wash. -- It appeared Wednesday afternoon that two people feared missing after a gas explosion at a Washington state motel were not inside at the time of the blast, which left a gas company employee critically injured.
Two people were unaccounted for after the explosion, but no remains were found in the debris, Bremerton Fire Chief Al Duke said.
"They're not here," Duke said, adding he was almost certain the missing guests were caught in the explosion. Cadaver dogs went through the building two or three times and found no evidence of bodies. In addition, Duke said, investigators pinged the cellphones of the missing people, and they showed up "way south of the area."
He said the fast action of the Motel 6 manager and the people who listened to the fire alarm helped ensure the explosion Tuesday night was not a bigger tragedy.
Motel manager Tonya Hinds began evacuating guests Tuesday after one of them reported a gas line was leaking at the back of the building. Hinds -- a former volunteer firefighter -- told CBS affiliate KIRO she went outside and saw that the leaking line was a big one "with a lot of gas."
"I pulled the alarm and started corralling people away from the building," Hinds said. "I wanted to make sure all my guests were out."
About 10 people were staying in the 16 rooms that were destroyed, Duke said. More than 60 guests were staying at the hotel, but they may not have been in the building at the time of the blast.
"People have been there when you hear an alarm go off and you don't do anything. We see that a lot," Duke said. "The one time that you should have gotten out, and you didn't, it might turn out bad."
The blast on the west side of Puget Sound, across from Seattle, ripped off a 16-room section of the hotel that collapsed in a pile of rubble and burned for hours. Some firefighters at the scene were blown back 20 feet by the force, and others pulled smoldering debris from the building to help contain the fire, Bremerton Fire Capt. John Hawkins said at a Wednesday news conference.
"The management did a really good job of getting the alarm in right away and getting the evacuation started," Police Chief Steve Strachan said.
Flames continued burning hours later, but Strachan said that was just the gas burning off from the line as the responders tried to get it shut off entirely.