One Person Likely Dead After Explosion In South Philly Rowhouses
Friday, December 20th, 2019 PropertyAn explosion ripped through multiple homes in South Philadelphia Thursday, causing them to collapse and leaving as many as three people trapped in the rubble, at least one of whom “most likely” died, officials said.
Fire Commissioner Adam Thiel said Thursday afternoon that authorities had located that person, but they were trapped under so much debris that officials weren’t able to get them out.
He said the department also received reports of one or two other people trapped in one of the adjacent buildings, but firefighters haven’t located them and were only able to access about 80 percent of that structure. About 60 residents were evacuated from their homes.
Fire officials responded to the 1400 block of South 8th Street just past 11:30 a.m. Thursday after receiving multiple calls about a house explosion and the smell of gas.
One home had already crumbled, and officials said that while firefighters were attempting to rescue a person inside, a second home partially collapsed, too.
