West Frankfort native recounts harrowing Murray State explosion
An explosion in a vacant dormitory on Wednesday rocked the campus of Murray State University in Kentucky - a school popular with southern Illinois students.
Hannah Eubanks of West Frankfort graduated from MSU in May and is spending the summer in her apartment in Murray before beginning a teaching job in Frankfort, Kentucky in the fall.
That apartment is about a mile from New Richmond Hall, where officials believe but have yet to confirm, a natural gas leak caused an explosion that injured at least one MSU employee and damaged several other buildings.
"I definitely heard the explosion," said Eubanks. "Everyone in Murray heard it."
According to the Murray State website, nearly 14 percent of the student body comes from southern Illinois.
Eubanks said she heard there were two injured in the blast, both residential directors who live in the dorm year-round. "I heard they are in good condition in the hospital," she said.
Things could have been very different. There are about 300 students on campus this week for various camps, and campers usually stay in New Richmond Hall, Eubanks said. This year, fortuitously, they were staying elsewhere.
An open letter from University President Bob Davies on the MSU website confirmed that all participants in the camps are safe.
"In regard to an event earlier today on the Murray State University campus, all participants in Adventures in Math and Science, Governor Scholars Program and Commonwealth Honors Academy have been accounted for and relocated," he said.
New Richmond Hall usually houses 246 students. One of them this fall was meant to be Johnston City native Kendall Baker. Baker, a sophomore at MSU, is home for the summer and was shocked by the news.
"I'm at home safe!" she wrote on Facebook. "The explosion happened at the residential college I was supposed to live at next semester. I know Murray State will make accommodations for all involved in the accident, I just hope everyone is safe."
An Associated Press story said officials at Murray State said the explosion caused extensive damage to the dormitory.