At least two people are dead after a suspected natural gas explosion Tuesday at a Pennsylvania nursing home, where part of building collapsed and some residents were trapped inside after the blast, officials said.
“This is a very, very tragic moment,” Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said at a news conference.
He called the explosion, which erupted about 2:20 p.m. at Silver Lake Nursing Home in Bristol, around 20 miles from Philadelphia, catastrophic.
Bristol Township Fire Chief Kevin Dippolito said at a news conference that five people may be unaccounted for, but that “they may have left the scene with family members.”
The explosion sent part of the first floor into the building’s basement, officials said, and first responders rescued people through windows and from the elevator shaft.
First responders from all over the region went to help, Dippolito said.
“There was one police officer who literally threw two people over his shoulders” to get them care, Dippolito said.
Utility company PECO said its crews were at the scene because of a gas odor at Silver Lake Nursing Home when an explosion occurred.
After the initial blast, firefighters in the building could still smell a strong odor of gas before a second explosion, Dippolito said. Firefighters were able to contain that fire and prevent it from spreading, he said.
Neighbor Keshawn Lovelace said he’s fond of nursing home residents and is struggling to grasp how this blast happened.
“I’m hurt,” Lovelace told reporters. “This is my neighborhood, so I feel like they are my family.”
Pennsylvania Emergency Management and state police “have offered their full support and any resources needed,” Shapiro said.
The cause of the fire is under investigation, but Shapiro said that preliminarily it is suspected to have been from a gas leak.
New owners had taken over the nursing home a few weeks ago, and the Department of Health visited the site on Dec. 10, the governor said. There were plans to upgrade and improve standards at the facility, Shapiro said.
Bristol Township declared a disaster, which makes it easier for obtain additional resources — including a task force from Philadelphia that will assist — officials said.
The number of injured was not immediately clear Tuesday evening because patients had been taken to so many different hospitals, Dippolito said.
Heavy machinery would be used to dig into the basement and techincal rescue teams were searching by hand Tuesday evening, Dippolito said.
“We are still in rescue mode until we know the building is clear,” he said.
Marin Scott, Insiya Gandhi, David K. Li and Emma Butts contributed.