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The Latest: 2 unaccounted for after motel blast

Debris rests on the ground after a portion of Motel 6 exploded, just after the business had been evacuated due to reports of a gas leak, Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2015, in Bremerton, Wash. Manager Tonya Hinds said in a telephone interview that a passerby had come into her office to say a gas line was leaking at the back of the building. (Christine Clarridge/The Seattle Times via AP) SEATTLE OUT; USA TODAY OUT; ONLINE OUT; MAGS OUT; TELEVISION OUT; NO SALES; MANDATORY CREDIT TO BOTH THE SEATTLE TIMES AND THE PHOTOGRAPHER Debris rests on the ground after a portion of Motel 6 exploded, just after the business had been evacuated due to reports of a gas leak, Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2015, in Bremerton, Wash. Manager Tonya Hinds said in a telephone interview that a passerby had come into her office to say a gas line was leaking at the back of the building. (Christine Clarridge/The Seattle Times via AP) SEATTLE OUT; USA TODAY OUT; ONLINE OUT; MAGS OUT; TELEVISION OUT; NO SALES; MANDATORY CREDIT TO BOTH THE SEATTLE TIMES AND THE PHOTOGRAPHER

By Associated Press August 19, 2015 1 min read

SEATTLE (AP) – The latest on an explosion that leveled part of a Motel 6 in Bremerton, Washington (all times local):

9 a.m.

Two people are unaccounted for after an explosion demolished part of a Motel 6 in Bremerton, Washington.

The Tuesday night blast also critically injured a gas company worker minutes after the acting hotel manager had evacuated the building due to a gas leak.

Bremerton Fire Department Chief Al Duke told the Kitsap Sun (http://bit.ly/1JqTL1O ) that the missing people may not have been in the building at the time of the blast, but until they were located the search would continue.

Bremerton is located west of Seattle, across Puget Sound.

The motel manager said the facility had about 65 guests in 42 occupied rooms, and the explosion destroyed about one-quarter of the building.