Electrical explosion in busy section of downtown DC sends 2 injured workers to hospital

2 workers hurt in downtown DC electrical explosion

WASHINGTON — Authorities say an explosion in an electrical vault in a busy section of Washington, D.C., has sent two workers to the hospital with injuries.

D.C. Deputy Fire Chief Ken Crosswhite says the two men were contract employees working in an outdoor electrical vault when there was an explosion in downtown D.C.’s busy Dupont Circle area. Crosswhite says one man was critically burned and the other suffered smoke inhalation.

Crosswhite says the vault contains various feeds of high voltage. It’s unclear what caused the explosion. No power outages were reported.

Traffic in the area is being redirected because parts of 19th Street and the Dupont traffic circle have been closed.