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At Least 14 Injured in Massive Gas Explosion in Kansas City

Feb. 19, 2013 9:54pm Jason Howerton

(AP/KCTV)

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — An official says 14 people have been confirmed as injured in a massive gas explosion in an upscale Kansas City shopping district.

Kansas City Manager Troy Schulte says officials don’t yet know if anyone was killed in the explosion, which destroyed JJ’s restaurant.

Authorities also are still trying to determine the full cause of the blast. Schulte says they do know there was a gas leak followed by an explosion. At this point, he says authorities believe it may have stemmed from an accident involving a utility contractor.

Earlier police spokeswoman Rhonda Flores said it appeared that a car crashed into a gas main near JJ’s just after 6 p.m.

People have been cleared from the area around the restaurant.

The smell of gas was very strong near the area long after the suspected explosion.

There were signs that utility work was being done in area. A phone message left Tuesday seeking comment from Missouri Gas Energy was not immediately returned.

Jim Ligon, a bartender who has worked at JJ’s restaurant for five years, wasn’t working Tuesday night but said he started getting texts and calls from co-workers minutes after the explosion.

He said the incident happened during the peak of weekday happy hour, when there is typically anywhere from 15 to 45 people in the bar area as well as three to five tables of diners at the restaurant.

“JJ’s has a small staff, a family feel,” said Ligon, 45, of Kansas City, Mo. “You see the same 100 people all the time – a bar and restaurant for regulars. We’re just really hoping we come out of here OK in terms of injuries.”

Ligon said he was on his way Tuesday night to meet up with co-workers at another bar in town to talk about the incident.

Video showed dozens of firefighters and other emergency responders battling a massive blaze that appeared to have engulfed an entire block, with flames burning through the roofs. Black smoke swirled in the air and debris littered surrounding streets.

The shopping area was established in 1922 by J.C. Nichols. Based on the architecture of Seville, Spain, it includes retail, restaurants, apartments and offices.

This a breaking news story and will be updated.

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Comments (20)

justsayin456
Posted on February 20, 2013 at 9:40am
Our safety standards for gas pipelines have been degraded for years. This was inevitable and it is a crying shame that it is one of the least commented upon topics in the news. Your city could be next. Educate thyself or you (unfortunately) are assuming the risk!

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- garylee123
  Posted on February 20, 2013 at 1:49pm
  Unless the car was driving underground it’s really hard to hit a “gas main”. More than likely hit the service and meter. It’s very rare that these things happen because of degradation. It is usually contractors, homeowners, etc, that have acted…..stupidly. And yeah….I have 42 years experience of fixing stupid.
  
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SocialistSlayer
Posted on February 20, 2013 at 9:07am
Too bad it wasn’t the White House !

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dcrabb
Posted on February 20, 2013 at 8:38am
((Knee jerk, Liberal emotional reaction mode ON))
Just another example of the horrible impact of gas lines in the hands of the wrong people. BAN GAS LINES NOW! Stop the needless deaths. We need stricter gas line control laws. We don’t need gas lines to keep ourselves warm we can heat with electric.
VP Biden says, “Just throw two fuzes into the air and that will scare off any nasty gas line explosions.” Do it for the children! Oh the humanity! (Sarc off)

Seriously, our thoughts go out to those who lost loved ones.

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PAUL GULLO
Posted on February 20, 2013 at 4:29am
——-Ap News————
Mitt Romney has apparently committed a terrorist attack . Romney is reported to
Have said that ” I hope I got at least a few latinos and blacks when I blew up the gas line”
——-This has been AP News————

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- The-Monk
  Posted on February 20, 2013 at 5:28am
  I hope that was sarcasm….. : (
  
  Report this comment
- helicop
  Posted on February 20, 2013 at 7:27am
  It’s a mass gassing by assault gas. Ban all assault gasses!
  
  Report this comment
Xanderson
Posted on February 20, 2013 at 12:48am
KC is home to the nicest people in the US of A! I sure hope no one was seriously hurt tonight. God bless you good folks!!

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VoteRightDammit
Posted on February 19, 2013 at 11:43pm
BAN NATURAL GAS !!!!!!!!

Oh, heck …………

BAN KANSAS CITY !!!!!!!!!!
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JohnofOregon
Posted on February 19, 2013 at 11:34pm
Oops!

I saw the headline: 14 injured in gas explosion and thought Biden was making another speech.

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Bonnieblue2A
Posted on February 19, 2013 at 11:22pm
Sad details here. It appears there were opportunities to evacuate but no one from the gas company sounded the alarm until moments before the exposion.

http://www.kansascity.com/2013/02/19/4075290/two-alarm-fire-raging-west-of.html

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Bonnieblue2A
Posted on February 19, 2013 at 11:09pm
More here: http://www.kctv5.com/story/21254467/large-fire

Cadaver dogs have been active on the scene. Not known yet if there were any fatalities.

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LameLiberals
Posted on February 19, 2013 at 11:09pm
Probably due to 60 years plus old gas lines.

Congress and president’s FIX IT idea. Let’s spend MORE MILLIONS/BILLIONS/TRILLIONS rebuilding Haiti, Libya, Afghanistan, Iraq and the rest of the world – Then TAX AMERICANS MORE claiming they are out of money.

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On_The_Spot
Posted on February 19, 2013 at 10:36pm
I grew up in the Kansas City area, and am familiar with the Country Club Plaza where this occurred.

Many of these buildings have gas meters located right on the street side of the building, and JJ’s was no exception. In addition, an alley located next to the building also had gas meters and piping exposed. This could explain the car theory. At the same time, a high-rise office building is under construction across the street from the restauaunt, so the utility work theory is also plausable.

I also saw reports in the local Kansas City media that one server was feeling ill and left work not long before the explosion, so it could have been a slow leak that could have building up over several hours (according to local sources, JJ’s was only open 5pm to 10pm, so the leak could have reached critical before employees/patrons suffered too many ill effects).

I hope and pray that those injured make a speedy recovery, and that this was just a freak accident.

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woodyee
Posted on February 19, 2013 at 10:17pm
This is why you shouldn’t be lighting your farts…

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- Salamander
  Posted on February 19, 2013 at 10:25pm
  Can you imagine the stench if ‘Bubba’ wasn’t lighting them?
  
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Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra
Posted on February 19, 2013 at 10:14pm
We always said, when Bubba wants to play “Pull my Finger”, just walk away.

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woodyee
Posted on February 19, 2013 at 10:03pm
It wasn’t me…

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- Cemoto78
  Posted on February 19, 2013 at 10:14pm
  It was most likely set up by environmentalists, the new face of domestic terrorist.
  
  Report this comment
- VoteRightDammit
  Posted on February 19, 2013 at 11:44pm
  Yes, we know …
  
  It was Bush’s fault.
  
  Report this comment

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