5 LA utility workers hurt in underground vault blast

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Five Los Angeles utility workers were hospitalized following an explosion Thursday in an underground electrical vault, officials said.

The blast occurred shortly before 3 p.m. while a crew was working on a circuit inside the vault in the Universal City area, said Joe Ramallo, a spokesperson for the LA Department of Water and Power.

Three of the workers suffered smoke inhalation and two were burned, Ramallo said. All were taken to hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries, he said.

“All patients were alert, conscious, talking and were in fair condition,” the Los Angeles Fire Department said in a statement.

Crews were working to restore service to about 17 commercial customers that lost power in the area about 10 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles.

The cause of the explosion was under investigation.