Pennsylvania nursing home’s “catastrophic” explosion has killed at least two people, while several others are missing.
According to Sky News, black smoke rose from the nursing home in Bristol Township on the outskirts of Philadelphia just after 2 pm on Tuesday, December 23, after a suspected gas leak explosion.
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro confirmed two deaths, adding that “some number of individuals" remain missing.
Shapiro told a news conference, “It is a sad and tragic evening here in Bucks County. An explosion occurred just a few hours ago... we believe preliminarily that it was a gas leak; the explosion was really quite catastrophic."
The cause of the explosion is currently under investigation, but after the initial findings, officers believe that it was a gas leak, as the local utility company, PECO, stated that its crew was responding to the report of a gas odour in the facility when the explosion occurred.
Firefighters rushed to save people trapped inside the building because they smelt gas. Just 15-30 seconds after they left, another explosion happened, and a subsequent fire broke out.
Bristol Township fire chief Kevin Dippolito explained that the first floor of the nursing home collapsed into the basement. Numerous people were pulled out of the debris by emergency workers. However, “specialised equipment" was called to continue the search for the missing people.
Dippolito said, “We are still in rescue mode. We have not transitioned into recovery mode."
Bristol Township manager, Randee J Mazur, declared a local disaster emergency after "significant structural collapse."
