4 injured in rocket explosion in Idaho

Four people were injured at the University of Idaho campus on Thursday night after an explosion stemming from an experimental rocket test gone awry, school officials and local authorities said.

The incident at the college campus in Moscow, Idaho, occurred as individuals were gathered to test the device in an unoccupied parking lot next to a steam plant.

Daniel Ewart, vice president of infrastructure at the school, said during a press conference that as a result of the explosion, one individual was put in critical condition while the other three were in stable condition after being taken to Gritman Medical Center.

He could not confirm whether those injured were students. Ewart said the campus was considered safe otherwise, but that they were still gathering information and an investigation into the causes of exactly what happened with the initial explosion was ongoing.

Grant Thurman, a member of the school's Northwest Organization of Rocket Engineers, told the Moscow-Pullman Daily News that the explosion resulted from the club testing rocket fuel it had created.

The University of Idaho said the incident was not a bomb threat.

Capt. Tyson Berrett of the Moscow Police Department said there was no known damage to any buildings. He added that the FBI had come in to join the investigation, which Moscow police said is routine protocol, because of their technical expertise regarding explosions.

The explosion occurred at approximately 9:52 pm local time.