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A pair of fire trucks collided in Monterey Park intersection this afternoon, sending one truck smashing through a dumpling restaurant.
The crash happened at the corner of Emerson and Garfield avenues, City News Service reports. An Alhambra Fire Department ladder truck collided with a Monterey Park Fire Department truck that ended up largely inside the Lu Dumpling House. It happened at 3:15 p.m. and aerial footage shows several patients being brought out on gurneys and airlifted, according to KTLA.
We're hearing all sorts of numbers, but the Los Angeles Times is reporting that 14 were injured and that number includes firefighters. No fatalities have been reported so far, but CNS says at least five injuries are considered critical. The Los Angeles County Fire Department urban search-and-rescue team has been dispatched to help search for victims, CNS says.
The trucks were on their way to a house fire, according to KNX and ABC 7.
Here are some shots from the ground:
Fire trucks collide in #MontereyPark, one ends up inside a restaurant. @KNX1070 pic.twitter.com/FJBVLnlrxR
— Claudia Peschiutta (@ReporterClaudia) April 16, 2014
#MontereyPark update: they were responding to house fire at south end of #montereypark, 3 to 4 FF inj pic.twitter.com/lANpmp1pE5
— Julie Sone (@ABC7JulieSone) April 16, 2014
UPDATE 4/17: Altogether 15 people were hurt in the crash, and six of those were firefighters—three from each truck. An owner told KNX that 1 employee and four customers were injured. This morning three of those victims are still in the hospital: 1 firefighter, 2 civilians and one of those civilians is in critical condition, ABC 7 reports.
Here's the scene from the restaurant this morning:
Lu Dumpling House is now boarded up after one of the fire engines crashed into it #MontereyPark pic.twitter.com/rMxcZVkYqV
— Julie Sone (@ABC7JulieSone) April 17, 2014
And here is a cell phone video that shows the chaotic scene inside the restaurant:
