NTSB: Worker Urged Evacuation Before Minnesota School Blast

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A preliminary report about an explosion at a Minneapolis school says a maintenance worker smelled natural gas and used a radio to tell others to evacuate just a minute before the blast.The preliminary report into the Aug. 2 explosion at Minnehaha Academy was released Monday by the National Transportation Safety Board. Two people died when part of a building collapsed.The NTSB says natural gas was released as workers were moving gas meters from the basement to outside the building. The NTSB has said that moving gas meters is a “hazardous operation.”

Minnehaha Academy is a private Christian school serving students from pre-kindergarten to 12th grade. The blast affected the campus that houses the high school. Classes there will start two weeks late, on Sept. 5.