Lunch truck explodes in Philadelphia, injuring 13
A lunch truck exploded outside an auto body shop in north Philadelphia on Tuesday, sending 13 people to the hospital, fire officials said.
The truck exploded shortly before 5:30 p.m., according to James Smith, acting spokesman for the Philadelphia Fire Department.
The fire department transported 13 injured people to the hospital and five of them were in critical condition, the fire department's Executive Chief Peter Crespo told the Los Angeles Times on Wednesday morning.
The cause of the explosion was not immediately known, and only one of the victims sustained a serious injury, he said.
“We got multiple calls for a bang that people said they heard, and then at the scene there were a number of people down," Smith said.
Most of the victim's injuries were described as "minor to mild," according to Smith, who said all but one were in stable condition.
Images on Twitter showed the truck intact, but its front end was charred. Smith said there wasn't a sustained blaze after the initial explosion.
Follow @JamesQueallyLAT for breaking news
UPDATE
July 2, 8:22 a.m.: This post has been updated to include new information from the fire department.
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