Explosion at Downtown Fort Worth Hotel Leaves Debris in Streets

A massive explosion in Fort Worth this week made the downtown streets look like something out of an action movie -- and, unfortunately, it left some people harmed.

Local officials and first responders swarmed upon the Sandman Hotel on Houston Street Monday afternoon ... this after a blast rocked the side of the building and sent debris and rubble spilling into the streets.

Reports say at least 11 people sustained injuries of varying degrees, and one person is reported as dead ... and a cleanup is underway right now. As far as what might've caused this -- fire officials are saying it appears to be a gas leak of some sort.

The exact cause is still under investigation. In case it wasn't clear how bad this was from the footage that's going around, we're now learning 2 floors' worth of the high-rise hotel was destroyed ... so it's a miracle even more people weren't hurt, or even killed.

Locals are saying the smell of gas is spreading throughout the immediate area -- and they're scrambling to get to the bottom of what the hell happened here. There's word that some construction may have been going on at this hotel.