Pueblo Colorado Explosion Levels Building – People May Be Trapped Inside

Follow comments from those who are in near the site:

UPDATE: Fire inspector, said that “at this point we have no idea what caused the explosion but it is consistent with a natural gas explosion.”

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Preliminary reports from Pueblo are that an explosion at the Branch Inn on Union Avenue and “C” Street in Pueblo has leveled the building. There are reports that windows were broken up to one block away due to the strength of the explosion.

We have reports that people may be trapped in the burning building. One woman was seen being loaded into an ambulance at the scene. No reports on the extent of her injuries.

One witnesse at the scene says they saw flames up to 40 feet in the air.

Developing…

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The location is in the Union Avenue Historic District, where president-elect Barack Obama spoke to a crowd of thousands less than two weeks ago.

An employee of Larry’s Electric, Sarah King, who’s near the explosion, said, “The building is flat leveled.”

Leroy Lucero, whose office is in the Union Depot, said, “The Branch Inn is completely gone….Anyone that would have been walking there would have been dead.” Lucero said the explosion rattled everything in the depot, and bricks and glass blocks from the building were scattered across the sidewalk and the street.

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