Electrical explosion at Google data center leaves three workers with critical burns

A Google data center close to Omaha, Nebraska was hit by an electrical explosion on Monday which left 3 employees with serious burns, which were confirmed by local officials.

“Three workers were accessing an electrical cabinet when there was an arc flash that resulted in all three being burned,” Justin James, the Council Bluffs fire chief told CBS MoneyWatch. “All were transported to the trauma center for care.”

Council Bluffs Fire Department Assistant Chief Jim Wood told the Omaha World-Herald that firefighters were dispatched to the data center one minute before midnight after receiving a call about an “electrical incident.”

“We are aware of an electrical incident that took place today at Google’s data center in Council Bluffs, Iowa, injuring three people onsite who are now being treated,” Google spokesman Devon Smiley said in his statement to The San Francisco Gate. “The health and safety of all workers is our absolute top priority, and we are working closely with partners and local authorities to thoroughly investigate the situation and provide assistance as needed.”

The website Downdetector, which is used for users to log problems with websites, was hit by a flurry of comments from users who reported issues with Google search, Gmail, Classroom and other Google features on Monday night. However, a Google spokesperson said that the issues were due to an “internal error” and were not related to the explosion.

“We’re aware of a software update issue that occurred late this afternoon Pacific Time and briefly affected availability of Google Search and Maps, and we apologize for the inconvenience,” the spokesperson said.

Google has 14 data centers across the United States. Their corporate website states that the Council Bluff data center is 15 years old and employs over 900 staff.