Los Angeles firefighters rushed to hospital after huge truck explosion

Blast occurred in Wilmington neighborhood as spokesperson says the ball of flame was as high as the telephone poles'

A truck's fuel tank exploded on Thursday in a Los Angeles neighborhood, sending a fireball into the air and injuring nine of the 10 firefighters responding to the blaze, including two critically, fire officials said.

All nine firefighters were rushed to Harbor-UCLA medical center and were stabilized, and one of the critical patients had to be intubated and airlifted to a burn unit at Los Angeles General medical center, said Dr Molly Deane, a trauma surgeon.