Investigators trying to determine what caused explosion at Newark Housing Authority building
NEWARK, N.J. -- Authorities are trying to figure out what caused a building in Newark to be leveled to the ground over the weekend.
Video shows the blast at the building on South Pine Lane, now reduced to piles of rubble and debris.
"My daughter was literally standing on the curb, and she was literally thrown across the street from the blast, and she has been hurt from the process," said displaced resident Vanessa Bohler.
Her daughter has been released from the hospital, but Bohler and her two adult kids lost everything. Their apartment is uninhabitable.
"Just grateful out of it, I still have my family," she said.
Through a chain-link fence, you can see the unit next door is completely gone. The family is staying at a hotel right now.
"You never thought in a million years that you would live like this. You've seen it in other situations, of other people, but you personally dealing with it is just a sad situation," displaced resident Jonathan Bohler said.
The building is a Newark Housing Authority complex that's operated by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka told CBS New York in a phone interview that 10 of the 12 families displaced have been moved to other housing units in the city.
"The Housing Authority moved swiftly, found them some locations, helped move their things," he said.
Several residents say contractors were working on the unit where the blast was first seen.
At least six people were injured; one of them, a man everyone knows as Mario, was rushed to the hospital in critical condition.
The mayor says HUD and the city are both investigating.
"When that's done, then I will be comfortable saying what the arson squad reports to us," Baraka said.
"It's unbelievable, and it seems like I'm just waiting to wake up from a dream, that what I had once is no longer there," Jonathan Bohler said.
One source of comfort for the victims -- people have been donating clothing, and the American Red Cross is offering financial assistance.
HUD sent CBS New York the following statement:
"HUD is aware of the explosion in Newark, monitoring, and in touch with local officials. HUD and the Newark Housing Authority continue to investigate the cause of the explosion at Stephen Crane Village and offer support and resources to the affected residents."
We reached out to the Newark Housing Authority, but no one has gotten back to us.
