Footage from a nearby business captured the big explosion that rattled an industrial street in downtown Los Angeles and injured three men around noon on Saturday.
Surveillance video provided Sunday by Dolani Produce Corp, located in the 1200 block of Eighth Street, captured the violent explosion of the roof of the building at 743 Kohler Street.
Building parts shot upwards as thick smoke billowed in the air, the video showed.
On Sunday, authorities continued to assess what was left of the structure. What triggered the incident remained unclear.
According to the Los Angeles Fire Department, two men suffered severe burns and were taken to the hospital in critical condition after the explosion. A third man was hospitalized in “fair condition” and was stable on Sunday, the agency said.
It took 140 firefighters a little over an hour to extinguish the flames that raged after the blowout and left the structure in shambles.
Officials described what stood before as a one-story building about 500 by 100 feet, located in a row of commercial buildings.
Shaken witnesses who worked in the area described hearing a series of explosions.
“The impact blew me back several feet,” said Angel, who was working at a neighboring tattoo shop. “I felt the glass shatter and hit me. I even felt the heat from the explosion, the fireball, hit me and kind of singe my arms a little bit.”
On Sunday, Battalion Chief Gregg Avery said cadaver dogs have indicated there may be remains under the debris, but noted that they may have just detected blood and not a body. He said firefighters continued to sift through the rubble the day after the incident.
Authorities have not been able to speak to the injured men due to their condition, Avery said.
The Fire Department has not released any information to the public about who operated in the building.
