Five people were injured, two of them critically, after a food truck exploded outside a coffee shop in a popular California shopping district on Saturday morning, according to reports.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the explosion occurred just after 9:15 a.m. on Greenleaf Avenue in Whittier, about 20 miles east of Los Angeles, shaking nearby businesses and causing panic among local residents.
Five of the injured were food truck employees who were treated at the scene and then taken to a local hospital, the outlet said, while two others suffered moderate injuries and one minor injury.
A food truck exploded outside a California coffee shop on Saturday morning, injuring five people, two of them critically. Google Maps
County fire marshal Martin Rangel told The Times that a propane tank explosion was likely the cause.
Police sealed off the trendy neighborhood known as Uptown Whittier for several hours after the explosion, but reopened the area by midday as authorities investigated the cause of the incident.
Matt Geller, president of the Southern California Mobile Food Vendors Association, said the food truck explosion was “a pretty rare occurrence,” but added that “there are a lot of old trucks out there.”
A gofundme.com page has been set up for the victims with a goal of $10,000.
Geller told the Times that there are more than 2,700 food trucks and trailers operating in Los Angeles County.
Fire experts say that about 70% of food truck fires are caused by faulty or leaking propane tanks, including one in Philadelphia in 2014 that killed a mother and her teenage daughter. Instagram / @liftwhittier
Fire officials said most food truck fires are linked to leaking or malfunctioning propane tanks and, while rare in the U.S., such explosions are not unheard of.
On July 1, 2014, a food truck burst into flames in Philadelphia, killing a mother and her teenage daughter, leaving three people severely burned and injuring several more.
Four years later, the case led to a massive $160 million settlement, WPVI-TV reported at the time.
