Emergency personnel were searching for two guests Wednesday morning after an explosion partly demolished a Motel 6 in Bremerton, Wash., officials said.
One gas company worker was seriously injured.
Hotel manager Tonya Hinds said in a telephone interview with the Associated Press that a passerby alerted her to a leaking gas line in the back of the building. Hinds — a former volunteer firefighter — said she went outside and saw that the leaking line was a big one “with a lot of gas” and quickly moved to evacuate the building.
“I pulled the alarm and started corralling people away from the building,” Hinds said.