SUN PRAIRIE, Wis. (AP) - The Latest on an explosion in downtown Sun Prairie, Wisconsin (all times local):
10:40 p.m.
Police in a suburb of Madison, Wisconsin, are lowering the number of people taken to a hospital following a powerful explosion.
They originally said one police officer and two firefighters were taken to a hospital following the explosion Tuesday evening in downtown Sun Prairie that came after a contractor reportedly struck a natural gas line. Lt. Kevin Konopacki now says the officer was treated at the scene.
Konopacki also says some civilians were treated for minor injuries, but none were taken to hospitals. He didn’t have an exact number.
No deaths have been reported, but Konopacki says damaged buildings will be searched after flames have been extinguished.
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9:30 p.m.
Two firefighters and a police officer have been hurt in a gas leak and explosion in a suburb of Madison, Wisconsin.
Lt. Kevin Konopacki says all three were taken to a hospital after the explosion Tuesday evening in downtown Sun Prairie, a community of about 30,000. Konopacki says he doesn’t know if anyone else was hurt.
Konopacki says firefighters and police responded to a reported gas leak about 6:20 p.m. Witnesses reported the explosion about 7:15 p.m. A utility spokeswoman says a contractor had struck a natural gas line in the area.
Authorities evacuated a five-block radius and set up a shelter at Sun Prairie High School.
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This update has been corrected to show the explosion happened Tuesday, not Monday.
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9:05 p.m.
A utility spokeswoman says a contractor struck a natural gas main shortly before an explosion rocked a suburb of Madison, Wisconsin.
WE Energies spokeswoman Cathy Schulze says the utility’s first responders are in downtown Sun Prairie working to shut off the flow of gas and make the area safe.
The explosion rocked the community of about 30,000 around 7:15 p.m. Tuesday, sending a massive plume of smoke into the area and sparking flames.
Dane County Sheriff’s Office operations manager Paul Logan says some people have been taken to hospitals, but he said no deaths had been reported. Logan had no other details.
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8:55 p.m.
Authorities in Wisconsin say several people have been taken to hospitals after an explosion in a Madison suburb but that no deaths have been reported.
Dane County Sheriff’s Department operations manager Paul Logan says people were hurt in the explosion Tuesday evening in Sun Prairie, which has about 30,000 people. But Logan says there are no deaths “at this point.”
Logan says he has no additional information at this time.
Witnesses heard a large boom around 7:15 p.m., and a massive plume of smoke rose from the downtown area. Police blocked off downtown streets and firefighters and utility companies were on the scene.
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7:45 p.m.
A major fire has broken out in a suburb of Madison, Wisconsin, after a loud boom was heard.
Witnesses say the boom around 7:15 p.m. Tuesday shook Sun Prairie. A massive plume of smoke is rising from the downtown area in the community of about 30,000 people.
Firefighters from Sun Prairie and surrounding communities are responding to the blaze.
Police have blocked off downtown streets from traffic and onlookers.
The area has several businesses including bars and restaurants.
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