At least 2 dead in ‘catastrophic’ explosion at nursing home in Pennsylvania: Officials

At least two people are dead and several individuals are believed to be missing 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, 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.

It is unclear at this time how many people are injured, with victims going to multiple hospitals, authorities said. At least five people are believed to be unaccounted for in the incident, though authorities stressed that that number is preliminary.

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 during the emergency response, Dippolito said.

Energy company PECO said its crews responded to reports of a gas odor at the nursing home shortly after 2 p.m. 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.

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.