CHICAGO -- The Ford City Mall will be closed at least through Thursday morning and possibly into the afternoon because of a natural gas explosion Wednesday night. Monique Bond, spokeswoman for the city's Office of Emergency Management and Communications, said only management officials would be allowed to enter until further notice.

The explosion rocked the mall, at 76th and Cicero, at about 8:45 p.m.

New Images: Explosion Rips Through Ford City Mall

Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford said in a television report that about 10 people were injured.

FeedRoom

Explosion Rips Through Mall

The explosion appeared to have been from an underground natural gas line. Broken glass and other debris was strewn 150 feet from the restaurant parking lot, Langford said.

There were numerous fire trucks and ambulances at the scene, and a light truck was providing illumination for emergency workers as of 10 p.m.

Langford said a dozen vehicles were damaged, and some overturned.

The mall was evacuated following the explosion.

"A piece of the gas main flew thorugh the air and came down through one of the buildings here," Langford said.

NBC5's Don Lemon reported from the scene, saying that Peoples Energy crews capped off a 20 inch main.

Gas had been shut off at the site by 10:30 p.m., Langford said.

The gas company was investigating the cause of the explosion, according to Peoples Energy spokeswoman Elizabeth Castro.

The Ford City Mall would be closed at least through Thursday morning and possibly into the afternoon because of the explosion, according to Monique Bond, spokeswoman for the city's Office of Emergency Management and Communications. She said only management officials would be allowed to enter until further notice.

Three of the injured were taken to the hospital in serious condition, three were in fair condition and four were in good condition, fire department spokeswoman Rosa Escareno said.

Escareno said that an Emergency Medical Services Plan 2 was called at about 9 p.m. for the explosion.

An EMS Plan 2 brings 10 ambulances to the scene.

NBC5's Amy Jacobson reported that eight people were brought to Holy Cross Hospital, 2701 West 68th St., with "non-life threatening injuries." Many of them, she said, were hurt by flying glass while dining at an Old Country Buffet restaurant in the mall. Several windows in the restaurant were blown out when the explosion occured.

The injured were taken to Holy Cross, Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, and a third hospital whose name Langford did not have.

Two adults and a child were in fair to good condition at Advocate Christ and would likely be released Wednesday night, according to the hospital's taped recording on the explosion victims.

Holy Cross representatives were unavailable at 10:30 p.m.

---

Mall employees seeking information should call the emergency number (777) 767-6400.

---

Witnesses Describe Blast

Chicago Police Officer Karen Jefferson said that she was off duty when she and her sister, Melissa Williams, parked their car at the mall. Moments later, the explosion occurred. The two women said they were about 10 feet from the explosion and saw the windows of a pizza restaurant and an Old Country Buffet blow out from the force. She said the blast left a crater in the pavement and cars were flipped.

Jefferson said that she saw people trapped under cars and sections of pavement, and the explosion was "like pieces of the parking lot were raining."

Sheena Blandon, 17, of Riverdale, said she was in the mall when a "couple of cars exploded" near its entrance. As Blandon was evacuated she smelled what seemed to be gas and saw cars overturned in parking lot near the mall entrance.

"It felt like the whole mall shook," Blandon said.

One woman who was inside the mall spoke with NBC5 over the phone after the explosion.

"I was inside the mall and we were shopping there, and we heard the big explosion, which happened at about 8:30 (p.m.). Everybody ran outside the mall, the alarm went off," the woman said. "There's about 100 square feet that's blowed up."

Witnesses said several cars were overturned by the force of the blast.

"We came outside and there were cars on top of cars," one witness told Lemon.

Brianne Fondren said that when she was evacuated from the mall after the explosion, she saw the parking lot "come up" from the force and several cars were "totaled." At 10 p.m. Fondren was still looking for her Pontiac Bonneville, which she had parked near the mall.

"It's a bad sight," she said, "it's a bad sight."

Teragus Lauderdale was inside the mall when the explosion happened.

"I was in the mall when the gas line had blew up," he said. "I seen a whole crowd of people just running toward my way ... about two or three minutes later, I started smelling gas just fill up the whole mall."

Lauderdale said he rushed outside and saw the full extent of the damage.

"I went outside to check it out and the parking lot where my car was was gone," he said. "It's a hole over there where my car used to be."

Yoshika Baker, 24, of Plainfield, was shopping when she heard a "loud bang" and the lights went off in the mall. Baker said everyone in the mall started running, and people who were in the parking lot were scattering.

"I live about 11 blocks away from Ford City, and I heard this loud bang," witness Alme Rios said. "We actually thought a car had crashed into our building, because it was that powerful."

A Hodgkins resident said he heard "the rumble" in his suburb.

Send pictures of the scene to NBC5 Morning Show.