Doing yoga, then 'bang': Dozens injured in Florida mall explosion near LA Fitness

Twenty-one people were injured, including two seriously, when an explosion erupted at an LA Fitness and several nearby stores of a Plantation, Florida, strip mall west of Fort Lauderdale on Saturday.

Authorities believe it was a gas explosion. The impact sent large pieces of debris about 100 yards across the street.

Joel Gordon, deputy chief of the Plantation Fire Department, said the 21 victims include a child, but the child is not among the two in serious condition. He didn't know how many of the injured were taken to the hospital. No fatalities have been reported, he said, and everyone is believed to be accounted for.

"Thank goodness, at this point, nobody was killed," Gordon said. "As bad as it was, it could have been a lot worse."

Gordon said the explosion appeared to have originated at an out-of-business restaurant called PizzaFire across the parking lot from the LA Fitness, but he said he couldn't confirm. He said first responders identified ruptured gas lines when they arrived on the scene and were able to secure the leak.

Gordon said firefighters responded to a phone call about the explosion at 11:28 a.m. Several stores were damaged, he said, including the LA Fitness, where most of the injuries occurred, as well as chiropractor and dental offices, a hair-cut shop and multiple restaurants. The LA Fitness was open and full of patrons.

Dan Feller was about 20 minutes into a yoga class at LA Fitness, sitting next to the instructor, when the explosion occurred.

"Things are going fine," he told CNN. "Tough class. A little hard on my body. I couldn't do all the things I wanted. Then all of a sudden, we heard the loudest bang. I mean like a 'bang!'

"I looked at the instructor and she looked at me, and the next thing we know, all the ceiling tiles were falling down and flaking on everyone, 50 of us in the class."

He said windows had blown in as well, and that he said to himself this wasn't lightning or a transformer break. "What went through my mind was gas explosion. I've witnessed them before."

Feller said he and others in the fitness facility started making their way outside.

"Everyone was kind of trying to get out," he said, "but they were wondering if it's safe to go out, safe to stay in, wondering what was going on. When does a building explode like this where the whole building falls apart? This is a relatively new building. Maybe it's three years old or so."

When he got outside, he said he found his car window's windshield blown out but was told by law enforcement he can't get into his car until Monday.

Video and photos posted on social media showed much of the LA Fitness destroyed with damaged buildings next to it and debris covering a parking lot.

The Plantation fire and police departments said on Twitter that the street was closed to traffic. Gas was shut off in the area.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Doing yoga, then 'bang': Dozens injured in Florida mall explosion near LA Fitness