A natural gas explosion at a Minneapolis school collapsed part of the building killing two people and injuring 9 others.
The explosion occurred late Wednesday morning setting the Minnehaha Academy —a Christian private school — on fire and collapsing part of the academy’s Upper School building. School officials say all summer program students and staff were safe and accounted for.
The bodies of two people killed in the blast were recovered late Wednesday, the Associated Press reports the medical examiner’s office was working to notify relatives. Of those injured in the explosion, four were still in the hospital late Wednesday, including one in critical condition.
Minneapolis police say the explosion was caused when contractors doing work at the school ruptured a gas line.
According to records, Master Mechanical Inc. was issued a permit at the school’s address for “gas piping and hooking up a meter.” The Star Tribune reports that the company had previously been cited by OSHA in 2010 for a violation related to an employee’s protection from falling, and in 2014 was fined for two paperwork violations involving an employee right-to-know and a hazard communication.
The Associated Press reports that in a statement Master Mechanical Inc. confirmed its employees were among the injured.
