Maryland condo explosion leaves 12 people, including 4 kids, injured - CNN

CNN  — 

A condo detonation successful Gaithersburg, Maryland, near a twelve radical injured, 2 of them critically, kicking disconnected a monolithic search-and-rescue cognition Wednesday, the Montgomery County occurrence main said.

The “significant” blast resulted successful a structural collapse, Montgomery County Fire Chief Scott Goldstein said. Light fume continued to emergence from the operation astir midday.

Authorities are “still moving connected the ground that determination are unaccounted-for personnel,” Goldstein said. “We are diligently moving to place each the occupants.”

There was a “gas-fed fire” successful the building’s basement that occurrence crews are handling, and inferior workers are attempting to crook disconnected earthy state to the building, helium said.

At slightest 100 firefighters responded to the country aft receiving reports of an detonation and occurrence astir 8:40 a.m., occurrence section spokesperson Pete Piringer said. The analyzable is composed of three-story buildings lodging astir 150 units, according to rental sites. Brown Station Elementary, little than a 4th mile westbound of the complex, was sheltering successful place, CNN affiliate WUSA reported. The students and module were safe, Piringer told the station.

Washington Gas “personnel are responding to assistance the occurrence section connected the scene. … We are supporting the progressive effect to the incidental and bash not person further details to stock astatine this time,” its connection said.

Ten radical were taken to hospitals, including 2 adults successful captious condition. Four adults and 4 children were transferred with mild to mean injuries. Two individuals were treated connected country and declined to spell to the hospital, Goldstein said.

The occurrence impacted 2 condo buildings with six units. Two different buildings were evacuated. Authorities are homing successful connected 9 apartments, trying to relationship for each unit’s residents, Goldstein said.

Residents told authorities they smelled state Wednesday morning. Maintenance unit connected tract utilized a ladder to rescue a nonmigratory from a rear balcony and assisted a nonmigratory astatine the backmost of the building, the occurrence main says.

Tyrell Singleton, who lives adjacent and heard and felt a large detonation earlier going to cheque connected his brother-in-law’s family, who lives successful the neighborhood, told CNN affiliate WJLA that helium initially thought it mightiness beryllium an earthquake.

“It was loud,” Singleton said, leaving him to judge thing had happened person to his ain home. Once they realized the commotion was coming from astir 500 feet away, helium and his stepfather ran implicit to inspect, helium said.

“The full beforehand of the interior of the gathering was gone. We seen debris, household members, things each connected the grounds, occurrence and conscionable heavy smoke,” helium told the station.

The section 911 halfway received “no calls anterior to the detonation for a state leak oregon a state smell,” Goldstein said, adding authorities were looking into whether determination were reports of a state odor past week.

The occurrence remained progressive precocious Wednesday morning, Goldstein said, calling it a multi-day event. More accusation is expected astatine a Wednesday day briefing.