Explosion At FBI Facility Injures 16 SWAT Members

An explosion at an indoor FBI training facility in Irvine, California, resulted in 16 members of the Orange County Sheriff's Department SWAT team being hospitalized, authorities confirmed via ABC 7 .

One person suffered a leg injury and will require surgery, two others experienced superficial wounds and the remaining 13 were hospitalized due to dizziness and ringing in their ears. Most of the SWAT team members who were hospitalized have since been released, Orange County Sheriff's Department Sgt. Frank Gonzalez confirmed via ABC 7 , noting that the FBI wasn't involved in the training.

FBI spokesperson Laura Eimiller also confirmed that no FBI personnel were injured during the incident. The explosion took place just before 1:00 p.m. at the facility located at Irvine Boulevard and Magazine Road.

The cause of the blast wasn't immediately made clear. The SWAT team was holding a joint training session with the Orange County Sheriff's Department's Hazardous Devices Section at the time of the incident. The Irvine facility hosts firearms training and qualifications tests for the FBI, as well as other local law enforcement agencies, according to Eimiller.

Both the FBI and the Orange County Sheriff's Department confirmed that they had launched investigations in relation to the explosion.