Explosion at Florida Jail kills 2 prisoners, injures 184

A suspected gas explosion at a county jail in the Florida Panhandle killed two prisoners and injured 184 inmates and jail staff, authorities said Thursday. The blast shortly before midnight Wednesday caused part of a building to collapse at the Escambia County Jail in Pensacola. All but three of the injured were treated and released later Thursday, dpa quoted a county spokesman as saying. The dead inmates, both male, were not identified. Three prisoners first reported missing were eventually located at local hospitals, authorities said at a press conference. The blast, which occurred during severe flooding in the region after days of heavy rain, was heard as far as 5 kilometers way, the Pensacola News Journal reported. A state official told the newspaper that the explosion did not appear to have been caused by any leaks outside the building, leaving a leak in an inside line or a gas appliance as possible sources of gas suspected of causing the blast. Hundreds of unharmed inmates, including 200 women, were transferred to other jails.