EGN NEWS DESK
One particular person died and 7 others had been injured Wednesday when a Tesla Cybertruck that gave the impression to be carrying fireworks caught hearth and exploded exterior President-elect Donald Trump’s Las Vegas lodge, authorities stated.
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police and Clark County Fire Department officers advised a information convention that an individual died contained in the futuristic-looking pickup truck they usually had been working to get the physique out. Seven folks close by had minor accidents and a number of other had been taken to a hospital.
The hearth within the valet space of the Trump International Hotel Las Vegas was reported at 8:40 a.m., a county spokeswoman stated in a press release.
According to a legislation enforcement official, the truck was rented by way of the Turo app and appeared to have a load of fireworks. The official spoke on situation of anonymity as a result of they weren’t licensed to talk publicly.
Law enforcement officers haven’t dominated out terrorism as a attainable motive, an individual acquainted with the matter stated. The particular person spoke on situation of anonymity as a result of they weren’t licensed to publicly focus on particulars of the investigation.
“I do know you’ve a variety of questions,” Jeremy Schwartz, appearing particular agent in cost for the FBI’s Las Vegas workplace, advised reporters. “We don’t have a variety of solutions.”
President Joe Biden was briefed on the explosion. The truck explosion got here hours after a driver rammed a truck right into a crowd in New Orleans’ famed French Quarter early on New Year’s Day, killing a minimum of 10 folks earlier than being shot to dying by police.
“The complete Tesla senior crew is investigating this matter proper now,” Tesla CEO Elon Musk wrote in a press release on X, including: “We’ve by no means seen something like this.”
In Las Vegas, witness Ana Bruce, visiting from Brazil, stated she heard three explosions.
“The first one the place we noticed the fireplace, the second, I suppose, was the battery or one thing like that, and the third was the large one which smoked your entire space and was the second when everybody was advised to evacuate and keep away,” Bruce stated.
Her journey companion, Alcides Antunes, confirmed video he took of flames lapping the perimeters of the silver-colored car.
The 64-story lodge is simply off the Las Vegas Strip and throughout the road from the Fashion Show Las Vegas shopping center.
Eric Trump, a son of the president-elect and government vice chairman of the Trump Organization, posted in regards to the hearth on the social media platform X. He praised the fireplace division and native legislation enforcement “for his or her swift response and professionalism.”
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Associated Press writers Colleen Long and Zach Miller in Washington contributed to this report.
