Shocking footage caught at a university in Texas shows eerie green flames erupting from a manhole as an explosion in the area prompted entire buildings to be evacuated.
If I saw green flames blazing from beneath a manhole, I'd immediately conclude that the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were having a bonfire. It might not be very logical, but neither are green flames.
But, as far as we're aware, there was nothing supernatural going on at Texas Tech University in Lubbock on Wednesday (March 12) when bright green flames began bursting from street level.
Footage shows the flames burning near a bench and some trees on the university campus, with officials explaining that fires began after an underground explosion inside one manhole near a central portion of the campus.
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Emergency officials arrived at the scene shortly after 7pm after reports of a gas leak, though when it came to the question of why the flames were green, Lubbock Fire Captain Jon Tunnell told a press conference it was 'too early' for authorities to say 'exactly what [they were] dealing with'.
The explosion caused power outages across the campus and prompted officials to evacuate buildings in the surrounding area.
One student, who was in a study session when the power went out, spoke to KCBD News Channel 11 about the situation and described how teachers told students to 'leave and evacuate the building'.
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"Once we were outside we heard three competitive booms [...] then we saw all this black smoke," the student recalled. "I just got in my car and left."
Student halls were not evacuated, though students were advised to avoid campus if they weren't already on it.
With Spring Break set to start on March 17, the university decided to close early and encouraged students to leave on Thursday morning if they were able to do so.
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Caitlynn Jeffries, a spokesperson for the university’s police department, told students: "You can go ahead and go home for Spring break. We are closing school down for the next couple days."
The university shut down power to the campus to allow repairs to begin. At 10pm local time on Wednesday, the campus was described as still being a 'very active' scene.
At 11pm the university removed barriers to allow students back into buildings to gather their belongings, however, everyone was asked to continue avoiding Engineering Key, which was one of the areas most affected by the blast.
According to Tunnell, no injuries were reported.
Emily Brown