Explosion Report Prompts Evacuation of the Salty Brine Beach in Narragansett, Rhode Island

Jul 11, 2015, 1:57 PM ET

By EMILY SHAPIRO and CORINNE CATHCART 

 

Police cordon off an area of Salty Brine Beach in Narragansett, Rhode Island, as the bomb squad arrives to investigate a possible explosion on July 11, 2015.

A Rhode Island beach has been evacuated and one woman is in the hospital after a reported explosion today. 

An explosion was reported at the Salty Brine beach in Narragansett around 11:15 a.m., according to Rayna Maguire, Assistant to the Director of the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management. 

@daveyarmon/Dave Armon

PHOTO: Officials are now patrolling Roger Wheeler Beach in Narragansett, Rhode Island after a possible explosion half a mile away at Salty Brine Beach on July 11, 2015.

 

 

The explosion "blew a 50-year-old woman onto the rocks," Maguire told ABC News. She was taken to South County Hospital in unknown condition. Her name was not released and the hospital declined to comment. 

It's unknown what the device was, Maguire said. The beach was evacuated and a bomb squad has responded to the scene. 

Dave Dean, a local radio host who was on the beach at the time, said in a Facebook video that it felt like an earthquake or gas explosion. 

@BrianL423/Twitter

PHOTO: Police begin evacuating Salty Brine Beach in Narragansett, Rhode Island, after a possible explosion on July 11, 2015.