2 dead, 9 injured after explosion at Minneapolis school

Two people were killed and nine injured Wednesday when a natural gas explosion caused a partial building collapse at a school in Minneapolis.

The victims are Ruth Berg, a receptionist who worked at Minnehaha Academy for 17 years, and 81-year-old John Carlson, an alumnus of the school who began working as a janitor there in 2003. Classes start Aug. 23, and at the time of the blast Wednesday morning, there were just a few groups of people on campus — year-round staff, girls there for cross country practice, and basketball and soccer players. All nine of the people injured were adults, and four remain hospitalized, one in critical condition and three in satisfactory.

Assistant Fire Chief Bryan Tyner said the explosion was caused by contractors working on the building, and two floors in the center of the building collapsed over a sub-basement. There is damage across the school, and the structural integrity of the building is in question, CNN reports.

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