A deadly explosion rocked downtown Youngstown, Ohio, on Tuesday afternoon, striking a building that houses a Chase Bank and apartments. One person was killed, and seven others were injured, with one in critical condition, according to officials.
⚠️🇺🇸New Drone footage shows how bad the explosion was yesterday at Chase Bank downtown in Youngstown 0H 👎pic.twitter.com/4fNtcY0LD8
— Todd Paron🇺🇸🇬🇷🎧👽 (@tparon) May 29, 2024
The Youngstown Fire Department initially described the incident as a natural gas explosion but later stated that crews were working to determine if there was a gas leak. Fire Chief Barry Finley confirmed that an explosion had occurred but said the cause was still under investigation.
The blast caused the floor to collapse into the flooded basement, and search crews were working to send a mini-drone into the area to aid in the search effort. The body of the deceased victim, an employee of the bank, was recovered from the site early Wednesday morning.
UPDATE (cont.) One woman is still missing, but Youngstown Fire Chief Barry Finley said that the woman's car isn't at the scene and she hasn't been identified at any hospitals in the area, so crews no longer believe she was at the building when the explosion happened. @KDKA https://t.co/uj8G1VAHIj
— Jennifer Borrasso (@JenBorrasso) May 29, 2024
The building has been evacuated, and streets in the surrounding area have been closed to traffic indefinitely due to the potential for a structural collapse. A spokesman for Enbridge Gas Ohio stated that the company is working closely with local emergency responders to contain the area and has shut off gas to the entire block as a safety precaution.
This #YoungstownExplosion at a #ChaseBank has people speculating if it was really a #gasleak or some #Joker rollin' around the city like.. pic.twitter.com/b4z6lLF7VP
— Autumn (@autumnh75) May 29, 2024
US Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) issued a statement, saying his team is monitoring the situation and thanking the first responders working to keep everyone safe. Authorities said there is no evidence of any suspicious activity at this time.
