Cadaver dogs went through the building two or three times and found no evidence of bodies. But on Wednesday morning they said three guests remained unaccounted for.
Advertisement
The blast demolished part of the building but no guests were reported injured.
A gas company employee on scene trying to fix the leak was badly burned and transported to a local hospital, police said.
Police say firefighters at the scene at the time of the explosion were blown back 20 feet.
The motel, which reopened last fall after extensive remodeling, had about 65 guests in 42 occupied rooms, and the blast destroyed about one-quarter of the building, the hotel manager said.
The leak was at the east end of the hotel, where there were guest rooms. The building, at 3400 11th St., was evacuated, fire officials said.
One woman said she had been making dinner when she suddenly heard a loud boom.
“He was here for us”, she said.
No one was ever supposed to get hurt.
Minutes before the blast, the hotel’s acting manager had evacuated the building because she could smell and hear a gas leak. “I called 9-1-1 immediately, and of course the fire department came, and the gas company was en route, I made an executive decision to evacuate my building”, Hines told KING 5.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with our employee and his family”, Eric Martuscelli, vice president of operations for Cascade Natural Gas, said in a statement. “It could have been worse”.
The smoldering ruble remained a “real problem” Wednesday, officials said. One firefighter suffered bruised ribs and the other a concussion, Duke said.
Bremerton Police Chief Steve Strachan praised the motel staff.
Authorities are investigating after a gas explosion at a Bremerton motel on Tuesday evening.
Advertisement
This story has been corrected to add a dropped word to the third paragraph to say the missing guests were not caught in the explosion.
