33 injured in blast during service at Illinois church

Federal agents seek cause of massive explosion

May 24, 1998
Web posted at: 6:41 p.m. EDT (2241 GMT)

DANVILLE, Illinois (CNN) -- Agents from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms are investigating an explosion at a church during Sunday morning services that injured 33 people.

About 300 people were in the church when the blast tore a hole in the side of the predominately white First Assembly of God Church.

Danville Police spokesman Larry Thomason said the blast occurred about 10:40 a.m. against a wall outside the church. Police do not know the cause of the explosion yet, but ATF agents are helping in the investigation, he said.

"They're looking at the evidence they have, collecting items around the area, trying to determine what was the source of the explosion," Thomason said.

ATF agents were called in from Chicago and Springfield, said special agent Jerry Singer. He said the explosion is being investigated as an "isolated incident."

Church organist Romona Logan describes the blast
	515 K/ 25 sec. AIFF or WAV sound

Seven victims were admitted to Provena United Samaritans Medical Center in Danville, said hospital spokeswoman Mary Kay Sweikar. One was in intensive care while the others were listed in fair or stable condition.

Three others were transferred to a Urbana, Illinois, hospital for higher level trauma care, Sweikar said. Twenty-three other victims were treated and released for lacerations, including eye, facial and head injuries, she said.

"At this time we don't think there are any life-threatening cases," she said.

Church organist Romona Logan was 12 to 14 feet away when the explosion occurred. "It was a huge blast and smoke was just everywhere and debris was everywhere," she said.

Church members remained calm with the exception of a few mothers who ran to the nursery to check on their babies, Logan said.

The Rev. Dennis Rogers said the explosion was near a section where young people sit and many of the injured were teen-agers.

"I couldn't see," Rogers said. "The place was completely darkened by smoke. I told the people to move as quickly and quietly as you can out of the building."

Afterward, church members gathered in a circle and prayed "that anger would not rule, that we would not ask why, that we would move on," Rogers said.

The blast reached to the church's roof, which is 2 1/2 stories high, and damaged an area up to 15 feet wide. The blast left a hole in the ground about 4 to 5 feet wide. Shrapnel was scattered for about 100 yards across the street from the church.

"It was just a huge blast ... it was a ball of fire ... it was bad," said eyewitness Chris Lehman, 34. a member of the congregation.

Lehman said the explosion was near the air-conditioning unit outside the church, but Thomason ruled out the unit as a possible source.

"With the type of damage, I would say that it had nothing to do with it," Thomason said.

This is the second church explosion in the area. One person was killed on December 30 in an explosion at a church in Oakwood about 15 miles west of Danville. That blast is still under investigation.

Danville is a town of about 34,000 people located 120 miles south of Chicago on Illinois' east-central border with Indiana.

CNN's Tim McCaughan and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Related sites:

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

• Provena Mercy Center

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.

---

 

---

	further reading

Sound off on our message boards & chat

© 1998 Cable News Network, Inc.
A Time Warner Company
All Rights Reserved.

Terms under which this service is provided to you.
Read our privacy guidelines.