Explosion at Buena, New Jersey home leaves 2 dead, 2 injured and 2 missing
BUENA, N.J. (CBS) -- An explosion at a Buena, New Jersey home has left two people dead, two injured and another two missing on Thursday, authorities said.
A 1-year-old girl was airlifted to St. Christopher's Hospital for Children in critical condition. A 16-year-old was also taken there in stable condition.
A 2-year-old boy, 3-year-old girl, 52-year-old man and 73-year-old were also in the home at the time of the explosion. Police say two of them were killed and two others are still missing.
Police had not identified any of the victims as of Friday morning.
Dozens of investigators from multiple agencies responded to the scene Thursday evening as they brought in heavy equipment to search through the debris and try to figure out what caused this explosion.
Just after 10:35 a.m., South Jersey Gas said they received notice from local emergency officials about a fire at a home on the 300 block of Northwest Boulevard and quickly dispatched crews to assist first responders.
Chopper 3 was overhead around 11:30 a.m., where debris could be seen scattered around the yard. Flames and smoke were also visible at the home.
Cell phone video shot by neighbors captured flames ripping through the house after what investigators said was an explosion just after 10:30 a.m.
Joshua Llerandi said he was in his house nearby when he heard it.
"I just heard like a loud boom, sounded like a bomb went off, and I went in the house and some things had actually shook in my house and fell off the wall," Llerandi said. "So when I had came out my door, there was just black smoke everywhere," he said.
In the video, you can hear loud popping sounds combined with the crackling of the flames.
Llerandi said he saw people screaming and running towards the house.
"I was just praying that everybody was in the house was out and I just was praying that everyone was okay," Llerandi added.
Witnesses said that while firefighters were en route, neighbors tried to help get people out.
Michael Mazowski drove over to watch the rescue efforts after feeling the explosion.
"Well, we were at home. I was watching TV and the house just shook so I thought it felt like something hit our house, so I went outside and looked, and the neighbors were coming outside looking at their houses," Mazowski said.
The blaze was put out and confirmed to be an explosion, Franklin Township Police Department Chief Matthew DeCesari said during a news conference Thursday afternoon.
"This is just something that's very tragic. This is a small community. Everybody seems to know each other and when you have an incident like this, it really hits everyone," Chief Decesari said.
Llerandi told CBS News Philadelphia that he went to high school with one of the women who lives at the home.
"I'm just sending my deep condolences and prayers to her, her family at this time," he said.
DeCesari said the department is treating the incident as a criminal investigation.
Franklin Township Police, the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office, ATF, State Police and FBI are working together on the case.
The cause of the explosion remains unknown at this time.
