A gas explosion damaged a New Jersey housing development this afternoon, injuring at least seven people and leaving over 100 others without power in the process.
NBC Philadelphia reports that the explosion happened just before 1 p.m. today inside of the South Fork development in Ewing Township as workers attempted to fix a gas line. NBC Philadelphia adds that smoke could be seen from up to 24 miles away, and that the force of the blast left residents thinking a plane had crashed.
Ewing Township Police Lt. Ron Lunetta said that five of the injured are public service workers, while the remaining victims are employees of the contracting company. "It's a pretty horrific scene down there," he told NBC Philadelphia.
PSE&G, the local gas company, said the line blew as their employees worked to repair it. As of now, 128 PSE&G customers have been left without power.
Authorities are searching the site, but Lunetta said he did not suspect that there are civilian injuries. NBC Philadelphia adds a doctor at Trenton's Capital Health Regional Medical Center said that none of the injuries, which range from respiratory to fractures, are life-threatening.
UPDATE: NBC Philadelphia reports that a woman's dead body was found at the site of the explosion. This is the only casualty reported so far, and we will continue to update this story here as it develops.
[via NBC Philadelphia]
