Explosion at Ocala horse center kills worker, horse

OCALA — An apparent spark within the high-oxygen chamber of a Florida equine sports medicine center triggered a huge explosion Friday that caused part of the building to collapse, killing a worker and a horse, authorities said.

Erica Marshall, 28, died in the explosion at the Kesmarc Farm and Equine Rehabilitation Center in Ocala, the Marion County Sheriff's Office said. A second worker, Sorcha Moneley, was airlifted to Shands at the University of Florida in Gainesville with serious injuries.

The explosion happened in a large building that contained stables. The blast involved a hyperbaric aquatic chamber, a cylindrical machine about 12 feet in diameter that uses compressed oxygen to help rehabilitate horses.

County fire officials said it was not clear what caused the spark. Authorities were investigating the cause of the explosion.