Page 5 - ATODAY

U.S. NEWS A5
Seattle blast levels buildings, causes no serious injuries
MARTHA BELLISLE
MANUEL VALDES
Associated Press
SEATTLE (AP) — Shop own-
ers on Wednesday inspect-
ed walls that were ripped
to shreds by an early morn-
ing natural gas explosion in
Seattle and marveled that
the blast had caused no
serious injuries.
Crews were responding to
reports of a gas leak when
the explosion occurred
about 1:40 a.m. along a
main thoroughfare in a
neighborhood north of
downtown.
“The most important thing
is that no one died and
this happened at two in
the morning and not two in
the afternoon,” said Chris
Maykut, owner of Chaco
Canyon Organic Café. “If
it had happened at two
in the afternoon, things
would be really bad right
now.”
The blast sent nine fire-
fighters to a hospital. All
were treated and re-
leased. There were no re-
ports of other injuries or
missing people. Still, dogs
searched the rubble.
The cause of the explosion
that damaged 36 business-
es was under investigation.
Video surveillance from the
Olive and Grape Mediter-
ranean Restaurant showed
a bright flash at 1:43 a.m.
and then the room shook
as debris fell from the ceil- his neighbor’s Kansas home
ing. A large garage door
covering the restaurant’s
front windows protected it
from extensive damage.
“The Olive and Grape was
lucky,” owner Paola Kos-
sack said in an email.
Bike shop owner Davey Oil
said he arrived soon after
the fire trucks.
“There were tons of flames
leaping over what was al-
ready the rubble of Nep-
tune coffee, which as
you can see now totaled,
gone,” he said.
Thursday 10 March 2016
The initial emergency calls
revealed the initial chaos.
“Mayday, mayday, may-
day,” a fire dispatcher
screamed immediately
after the explosion, calling
for a full response. “I have
firefighters missing.”
Eight firefighters and a
battalion chief were later
treated at Harborview
Medical Center. Several
were hurt by falling debris.
None were admitted.
“We didn’t have anybody
with burns, nothing life-
threatening, nothing ma-
jor,” hospital spokeswom-
an Susan Gregg said.
Kenny Stuart, president
of the Seattle firefight-
ers union, said it was “ex-
tremely fortunate” that no
first responders were seri-
ously injured or killed.
Residents and shop owners
in the Greenwood neigh-
borhood spent the morn-
ing surveying damage
and cleaning up rubble
and glass that littered the
streets. Workers from one
cafe damaged in the blast
poured coffee for firefight-
ers.
Among the businesses
Firefighters stand near the smoldering rubble left from an early morning explosion Wednesday,
March 9, 2016, in Seattle. The explosion heavily damaged buildings and injured multiple
firefighters. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
damaged or destroyed everything they can to termine what caused the
were Neptune Coffee, Mr. support these businesses explosion, and the util-
Gyro and the bike shop as they begin the long and ity will be working with the
G&O Family Cyclery. challenging task to recov- Seattle Fire Department in
er and repair from this in- the investigation.
An apartment building and cident,” Seattle Mayor Ed Pipeline safety investiga-
another nearby residential Murray said in a statement. tors from the Washington
structure were evacuated. Puget Sound Energy Utilities and Transportation
“I know neighbors will do spokeswoman Akiko Oda Commission were also at
said it will take time to de- the scene.
Suspect in 5 Missouri, Kansas killings captured
JIM SUHR patrol Sgt. James Hedrick place a detainer on Serra- der and other charges in
Associated Press told The Kansas City Star. no-Vitorino. the Missouri killing.
KANSAS CITY, Missouri (AP) Serrano-Vitorino, who has Authorities allege that Ser- He was being held Wednes-
— A Mexican national sus- been living in Kansas City, rano-Vitorino gunned down day in a Montgomery
pected of killing his neigh- Kansas, was caught shortly his neighbor, 41-year-old County, Missouri, jail on $2
bor and three other men at after someone called the Michael Capps, and three million bond linked to the
authorities to report that other men at Capps’ home Kansas charges. Neither
before killing another man he had fled from an armed late Monday before flee- the county sheriff nor coun-
in Missouri was arrested man who had approached ing, leading to a manhunt. ty prosecutor immediately
early Wednesday, authori- him, the patrol said. Authorities allege that Ser- responded to calls seeking
ties said. rano-Vitorino then killed comment.
Serrano-Vitorino is in the 49-year-old Randy Nord-
Pablo Antonio Serrano- country illegally, U.S. Immi- man on Tuesday morning Authorities haven’t dis-
Vitorino was captured gration and Customs En- at Nordman’s rural home. cussed a motive for any of
without resisting following forcement said in a state- the killings.
a manhunt. He had a rifle ment. He was deported Serrano-Vitorino has been Reinsch has said that inves-
with him, said Lt. Paul Re- from the U.S. in April 2004 charged with four counts tigators weren’t aware of
insch of the Missouri State and illegally re-entered the of first-degree murder in any connection between
Highway Patrol. country on an unknown the Kansas killings and one Serrano-Vitorino and Nord-
“He looked exhausted,” date. ICE said it would count of first-degree mur- man.