Explosion Rips Hilton San Diego Bayfront Hotel, 14 Injured

San Diego, CA (AHN) - An explosion rocked the Hilton Hotel in San Diego at around 2 p.m. Monday, destroying part of the hotel's facade and hurting 14 workers. Five of the injured were in critical condition.

The waterfront hotel is under construction. According to Mayor Jerry Sanders, over 400 construction workers were on the site when the blast occurred.

Bruce Ragland, who controls the gate at the nearby Petco Park baseball stadium 200 yards away from the hotel, said the blast blew two sides of the building and sent off a shockwave.

San Diego Deputy Fire Rescue chief Perry Peake, quoted by CBS, said the explosion was in a part of the building which had gas, electric and other utilities. Peake's theorized the blast was caused by mechanical failure or gas.

"We want to rule out all possibilities before making an official report, but we're pretty confident that's how it's going to come out," Peake told CBS.

According to Maurice Luque, fire spokesman, three of the five workers in critical condition were confined at the burn unit. The injuries of the workers ranged from serious to minor burns and wounds caused by the flying debris.

Ten workers had been brought to the UCSD Medical Center. Some had already been released after treatment.

The 30-floor Hilton San Diego Bayfront hotel was slated for opening in December with 1,190 rooms and over 165,000 square feet of meeting space. Karima Zaki, Hilton's vice president for new development, said it was too early for the hotel to tell if the blast would delay its timetable for opening.