6 hospitalized in casino blast

HOLLYWOOD, FLA. (WSVN) - The Seminole Classic Casino successful Hollywood has reopened astir 10 hours after, officials said, an detonation caused portion of the drywall to travel crashing down, injuring much than 2 twelve radical and sending six of them to the hospital.

7News cameras captured the entranceway to the casino, located astatine 4150 N State Road 7, backmost unfastened to the public, Monday night.

“We reopened astatine 8:30, and radical person been coming backmost successful determination to person fun,” said Gary Bitner, a spokesperson for the Seminole Tribe of Florida.

Just earlier 10 a.m., however, it was a chaotic country wrong the casino.

Cellphone video captured a spread successful the partition adjacent immoderate slot machines and debris scattered crossed the floor.

“A large explosion, and everybody got retired and started running,” said witnesser Rainier Hernandez.

“It got each acheronian similar smoke, getting each the fibre from the walls. I don’t adjacent cognize what is that,” said different witness.

“Like a large bomb, similar a weaponry went off,” said a pistillate who was adjacent the spot wherever the drywall came down.

Hollywood Fire Rescue units responded astatine astir 10:30 a.m.

Officials with the Seminole Tribe, which owns the casino, said it appears workers were conducting twice-yearly attraction connected a occurrence suppression strategy down the drywall.

“They were successful the process of doing that, had finished and reconnected the hoses to the system, erstwhile 1 of them ruptured and caused 3 of the tanks to instantly empty,” said Bitner. “Pieces of it, actually, combusted, and it pushed different items astir successful the country wherever it was, due to the fact that it was powerful.”

The gathering was evacuated.

Twenty patients were treated for insignificant injuries astatine the scene, and six radical were taken to Memorial Regional Hospital.

“There were six radical transported, determination were 20 radical who refused transport, that’s a operation of employees and guests who were present astatine the time,” said Bitner. “There were astir 100 radical betwixt employees and guests present erstwhile this happened.”

7SkyForce hovered supra the country arsenic archetypal responders treated victims.

“A batch of fiberglass successful my assemblage and each that,” said Hernandez.

“I was adjacent to it, truthful I was checked by the paramedics, and I’m going home,” said the woman. “Everything seems to beryllium nether control.”

7News cameras captured paramedics arsenic they wheeled 1 of the patients into the hospital.

One of the victims sustained a caput wounded that was not considered life-threatening. There were nary reports of important injuries.

By Monday afternoon, 4 of the six radical who were taken to the infirmary had already been released.

Bitner said the drywall has since been repaired.

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