A powerful gas explosion rocked a strip mall in Florida City, causing devastating damage and sending 10 people to the hospital, officials said.
7News cameras captured windows boarded up after being blown out at the shopping plaza on West Palm Drive, near Southwest 187th Avenue, Saturday morning.
Video also showed debris at the scene of the blast, with glass covering the parking lot, as the shock from the blast was still settling.
The deafening sound woke up area residents.
“Plus some black smoke in the air. I mean, it shook the ground, everything,” said witness Jose Francisco.
“It exploded, and I had no idea what was happening. I got up and said, ‘What happened over there?’” said a woman through a translator.
The woman and her neighbors took then took in the damage, as dozens of Miami-Dade Fire Rescue crews rushed there just before 9 a.m.
MDFR officials said firefighters responded to a propane gas explosion,
“It originated in the restaurant, and then it extended into the smoke shop next door,” said MDFR Division Chief Horacio Rodriguez.
According to one business owner, that restaurant was gearing up for its opening day.
Fire crews said the gas company was working inside the building when the explosion happened, causing a partial roof collapse and a dangerous amount of damage.
Firefighters had to use K-9s to make sure no one was trapped inside.
As cleanup continued, 7News caught up with one woman who was just released from the hospital
When asked how she was doing, she replied, “More or less good.”
Meanwhile, witnesses were just thankful the outcome wasn’t worse.
“Nobody got killed or nothing, praise to God,” said Francisco.
The other businesses in the strip mall were impacted, and employees were not able to get inside.
Officials said the building has been deemed unsafe, as they continue their investigation.