At least 2 dead in 'catastrophic' explosion at nursing home in Pennsylvania: Officials
At least two people are dead following a "catastrophic" explosion at a nursing home in eastern Pennsylvania, officials said Tuesday.
"This is a very, very tragic moment for this community," Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said at a press briefing Tuesday evening.
The explosion occurred at the Silver Lake Nursing Home in Bristol, which is about 25 miles northeast of Philadelphia, on Tuesday afternoon, causing a large fire.
"There was a major structural collapse with parts of the first floor into the basement with persons trapped," Bristol Fire Chief Kevin Dippolito said at Tuesday's press briefing.
Authorities said at least two people were killed in the blast. At one point, local authorities reported a third death, but Bristol Township Police Chief CJ Winik told ABC News the person was resuscitated at a local hospital and the death toll remained at two as of late Tuesday night.
Earlier, authorities said five people were believed to be unaccounted for, but the police chief said all employees and residents of the nursing home were reported to be accounted for and the search had concluded.
The fire chief told ABC Philadelphia station WPVI that 20 people remained hospitalized as of Tuesday night.
The cause of the explosion remains under investigation, though Shapiro said it is preliminarily believed that a gas leak led to the "catastrophic" explosion.
There was a heavy odor of natural gas amid the emergency response, during which a second explosion occurred, Dippolito said. The source of the gas leak was in the facility's basement, he said.
Energy company PECO said its crews responded to reports of a gas odor at the nursing home shortly after 2 p.m. on Tuesday and that an explosion occurred while they were on site.
"PECO crews shut off natural gas and electric service to the facility to ensure the safety of first responders and local residents," the company said in a statement. "It is not known at this time if PECO's equipment, or natural gas, was involved in this incident."
Shapiro commended the response to the fire.
"I want to say that in the immediate moments after the explosion, you saw what real heroism is all about -- firefighters rushed to this scene in order to contain the explosion, in order to put out the fire, and, most importantly, in order to rescue people," the governor said.
The nursing home had changed ownership this month, according to Shapiro. The Pennsylvania Department of Health conducted an inspection of the facility on Dec. 10 and had begun working with the new owners on plans to improve safety and standards, he said.
"That work will obviously continue with the new owners to ensure that they do what is necessary to keep residents safe at this facility," Shapiro said.
Editor's Note: This story has been updated to reflect the death toll from the blast remains at two. Earlier, authorities said a third person had died, but the Bristol Township police chief said the person was resuscitated and the death toll remained at 2 as of late Tuesday night.
