One of Google’s data centers in Omaha, Iowa, reportedly suffered an electrical explosion and three electricians were seriously injured, while some of the company’s services were cut.
One man is said to have “lower torso injuries”, another has “burns on his face, left arm and thigh”, and one has “face burns”, according to a tweet from an account claiming to be monitoring local police radio.
Located near Lake Manawa State Park, the complex stands out as one of Google’s largest data centers. The explosion occurred around 11:59 am local time, as reported by the Omaha World-Herald.
Jim Wood, deputy head of the Council Bluffs Fire Department, did not provide the local broadcast with the exact details of the incident except that “it was definitely some kind of electrical problem”. Local fire officials are reportedly continuing their investigation into the incident.
All of the injured electricians, including one by helicopter, were taken to the Nebraska Medical Center.
Downdector noted an increase in outage issues during this event, mostly affecting Google Search, but also having a minor impact on Maps and YouTube. But there’s no way to tell if these were linked to the explosion, and Google hasn’t announced any service disruptions related to the incident.
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