A gas explosion at a jail has injured 100 to 150 inmates and corrections officers, a county spokeswoman said.

The explosion happened around 11 p.m. CDT Wednesday in Escambia County jail's booking facility and caused the building to partially collapse, said Kathleen Castro, the county's public information manager. About 600 inmates were in the building at the time, she said.

Castro didn't know if flooding in the area was a factor but says the jail did get extensive flooding during heavy rains that drenched the region Tuesday and Wednesday.

The injured were brought to hospitals and the uninjured inmates were brought to jails in neighboring counties, Castro said.

 

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