By Ryan W, Miller of USA TODAY
A “major gas explosion” rocked northwest Baltimore on Monday morning, killing at least one person and leaving several others trapped or injured, local fire officials said.
Baltimore City Fire Department said in a Facebook post that at least three homes were involved in the gas explosion that killed at least one woman. At least two occupants had also been transported to the hospital in serious condition, the department said.
According to the city’s local fire union, at least five people, including children, had been trapped but three were rescued as of 10:30 a.m. as search operations continued.
“This is a major incident,” the IAFF Local 734 said in a tweet. More than 200 personnel were on scene, including officials with Baltimore County Fire, the city’s emergency management office and Baltimore Gas and Electric, the union said.
Linda Foy, a spokeswoman for Baltimore Gas and Electric, told USA TODAY that crews received a call from Baltimore’s fire department just before 10 a.m. Monday and were working to turn off gas to other buildings in the immediate area.
Photos from the scene showed the rubble of the collapsed structures next to other row houses as fire officials searched through debris.
Moses Glover told the Baltimore Sun that the explosion “knocked me across the bed” in his nearby home. “I came downstairs and saw all of the front of the houses across the street, they were on the ground. I had a picture window downstairs, the glass is in the chair now,” he told the newspaper.
Gov. Larry Hogan called the explosion “horrific” and said he was closely monitoring the situation. Read more from USA Today.
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