Official: New Jersey house explosion injures at least 3
ELIZABETH, N.J. (AP) — A house explosion in northern New Jersey killed one person and left two severely burned Wednesday, Elizabeth Mayor Chris Bollwage said.
Eleven others were taken to hospitals, according to the mayor.
The blast leveled the two-family duplex on Magnolia Avenue "like a pancake," Bollwage said. Swarms of fire trucks and rescue trucks crammed the street where the explosion occurred, a scant 100 yards from the busy Routes 1 & 9 corridor.
Bollwage said he was "90 percent sure it was a natural gas explosion," but it was unclear what set it off.
The names and ages of the victims have not been released.
Lisset Garcia, who lives about two blocks away, said she was in bed with her daughter when the explosion occurred.
"I heard a loud boom and the house shook a little," Garcia said. "At first, I thought it was a small earthquake or something."
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Associated Press writers Michael Catalini and Shawn Marsh in Trenton contributed to this report.
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