$1 million in vintage Corvettes were in buildings flattened by Texas blast, man says
A deadly explosion in Texas on Friday also damaged a number of nearby homes and businesses — including a Corvette restoration company.
Around 4:20 a.m., an explosion rattled Watson Grinding and Manufacturing in Houston, killing employees Frank Flores and Gerardo Castorena, KPRC reported. The blast destroyed 50 homes and damaged 214, knocking some off their foundations, according to the outlet.
“This is, in essence, a disaster area right now,” Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo told the outlet.
Gordon Andrus owns Houston Corvette Service — a car restoration business — which is located across the street from Watson Grinding and Manufacturing, KTRK reported. He says the blast leveled two of his buildings and trapped some expensive cargo inside: roughly $1 million worth of vintage Chevrolet Corvettes.
“I have two buildings and they pretty much collapsed on the cars inside,” Andrus told KHOU. “Inside there’s about a million dollars worth of cars. We restore old Corvettes, so they’re pretty smashed up.”
Andrus told KTRK no one was inside either building at the time of the blast. He says he’s thankful none of his employees were injured, according to the outlet.
Despite the damage, Andrus says Houston Corvette Service will be operating again on Monday, KHOU reported.
“We’re upset, but we’ll be up and running Monday in another building,” he told the outlet. “We have a body shop and paint shop. We’ll move down there.”
An investigation into the explosion is under way, but officials say it could take months to determine what caused the blast, KPRC reported.
Debris from the explosion has been found at least a quarter mile from the blast site and police have been searching roughly 200 nearby homes for other victims, according to the outlet. Anyone who finds debris on their property is asked to refrain from touching it and call 911 so officials can collect the evidence.
This story was originally published January 26, 2020 at 11:23 AM with the headline "$1 million in vintage Corvettes were in buildings flattened by Texas blast, man says."