Dec. 23 (UPI) — An explosion Tuesday afternoon at a nursing home in eastern Pennsylvania killed at least two and left many injured and missing, local officials said.
The explosion took place at 2:15 p.m. EST at the Silver Lake Nursing Home in the borough of Bristol. It originated in the nursing home’s basement and caused a fire and part of the building to collapse, a Bucks County spokesperson told NBC News.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro traveled to the nursing home’s location and told media a gas leak is suspected of causing the deadly explosion and fire.
Shapiro commended the actions of police, firefighters and other first-responders to help others and minimize potential casualties.
The nursing home has 174 beds, most of which were occupied, and a worker told WCAU that about 50 people usually are inside the building.
The nursing home is located about 20 miles south of Philadelphia, and most of its residents are between ages 50 and 95.
The explosion shook nearby buildings and caused a response from fire departments and first responders in Pennsylvania’s Montgomery, Bucks and Philadelphia Counties, plus another from Burlington County in New Jersey.
This is a developing story.
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