Explosion at horse rehabilitation centre kills one worker and one horse

An explosion at an equine sports medicine centre in Florida caused part of the building to collapse killing a worker and a horse.

 

According to Fox News, an apparent spark within the high-oxygen chamber of the centre triggered the explosion at Kesmarc Farm and Equine Rehabilitation Center in Ocala.

 

The Marion County Sheriff's Office said that Erica Marshall, 28, died in the explosion and a second worker, Sorcha Moneley, was airlifted to Shands at the University of Florida in Gainesville with serious injuries.

 

The explosion happened at a large building at the centre, which contained stables and one horse was killed. Although about 30 other horses which were kept in the building were unhurt and have since been moved.

 

The blast involved a hyperbaric aquatic chamber, a cylindrical machine about 12 feet in diameter that uses compressed oxygen to help rehabilitate horses. 

 

The Florida State Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating the cause of the explosion and said that it was not immediately clear what caused the spark. 

 

The explosion didn't cause a fire but partially collapsed the building's southwest corner, where the hyperbaric aquatic chamber was located, fire officials said.

Picture: Phillip Pessar