At least eight people were hospitalized Tuesday as a residential building in Chicago collapsed after a massive explosion.
Law enforcement and first responders were sent to the four-story apartment building in the city’s South Austin neighborhood shortly before 9:30am on Tuesday morning after an explosion caused the roof to collapse, ABC News reported. Three of those involved in the “mass casualty” event are in serious condition. One of the injured was in a building on the opposite side of the street when the explosion occurred, WGN9 noted.
Ten ambulances arrived at the scene, transporting six men and two women to hospitals, ABC News continued. The Chicago Fire Department shared footage online showing debris from the blast spread across the corner block.
— Chicago Fire Media (@CFDMedia) September 20, 2022
“I was asleep, and all of a sudden there was a loud booming,” one resident told WGN9. “I woke up to my windows gone, my front door blown open. I just saw smoke, and I ran out of the house. I was asleep. I’m shook up right now.” Other residents who left the building shortly before the explosion said they smelled something in the hallway right before the explosion happened, but People’s Gas has refuted these statements, WGN9 continued. (RELATED: Explosion At Google Data Center In Iowa Causes Major Outages, Three People In Critical Condition)
“The cause of the incident is unknown, but there is no reason at this point to believe the cause is related to gas or any of our equipment,” a spokesperson for Peoples Gas said, according to ABC News. The local fire department also reportedly told the company that there was no odor of gas, nor have any equipment issues been identified, WGN9 reported.
The investigation is ongoing, with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms and Explosives, Chicago Bomb Squad joining Chicago fire, ABC News noted.