Seven LA firefighters injured, two critically, in burning truck explosion

Blast occurred in Wilmington neighborhood as spokesman says ‘the ball of flame was as high as the telephone poles’

A burning truck’s fuel tank exploded on Thursday while Los Angeles firefighters were trying to battle the blaze, injuring seven of them, including two critically, authorities said.

The explosion of one of the truck’s natural gas tanks occurred shortly before 7am in the Wilmington neighborhood, fire department spokesman Nicholas Prange said in an interview.