By Erika Hernandez
Jun 20, 2024, 7:32 PM EDT
Authorities reported that 13 people were treated in the hospital for various injuries after a house collapse in Syracuse, New York, on Tuesday. Investigators are working to determine if the cause was a gas explosion.
More than 50 firefighters responded to multiple 911 calls of what appeared to be an explosion at a two-story home around 4 p.m., Syracuse Fire Chief Michael Monds told reporters at the scene.
Most of the victims were found in the front yard of the home at 205 Carbon Street when first responders arrived, but at least one young man had to be pulled from a car buried in the rubble, the Associated Press reported.
Of the 13 taken to hospital, at least 11 were admitted for “further treatment.”, indicated a statement from the Syracuse Fire Department to Fox News Digital. The ages of the victims range from eight months to 42 years.
In addition to residents renting the property, visiting family members were also injured in the collapse. The fire department provided a list of the injured that includes two fathers, two mothers and nine children.
Three of the children remain in critical but stable condition, according to the department.
Monds indicated that Police and firefighters will investigate what caused the collapse of the house, which dates back to 1920. He noted that responding firefighters also found downed power lines and a strong smell of natural gas at the scene.
Search and rescue teams spent hours at the scene making sure no one else was trapped under the rubble.
Mayor Ben Walsh told local television station WSYR that the home did not have any open code violations and that investigators were interviewing the owner.
The home will be demolished once the investigation is complete and National Grid shuts off the gas line to the home, Walsh said, according to CBS News.
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